EDCM Campaign against cuts to benefits paid to parents of disabled children

[KateMumsnet]

Hello

Today Every Disabled Child Matters, with whom we worked on our Respite Care Campaign, is calling on the government to rethink its decision to cut support for up to 170,000 families who have disabled children.

The Welfare Reform Bill proposes to cut benefits paid to low income or out of work families with disabled children by 50%. This amounts to a drop of £1400 per year - although these families often face higher basic costs than others, and may also find it harder to get employment which allows them to continue caring for their children.

If you'd like to write to the PM and ask him to reconsider, EDCM have made it easy to do so via this link. And don't forget to let us know what you think here on the thread.

Thanks

MNHQ

I just don't get this. Disabled children are off limits.

Wasn't it Churchill who said something along the lines that one could judge a society by the way they treated prisoners? Well, I would add that we should judge a society by the way disabled people are treated.

Apparently, yes they do just make them up - since they've just had to add 1bn to the ESA budget, as far far less people than they thought are being assessed as fit for work!

The 20% figure is based on the fact that the Government have decided they need to make a 20% saving on disability benefits. Despite the fact that the fraud AND DWP error rate combined (as it is too low to separate) is 0.5%.

Which means that 19.5% of people with GENUINE disabilities will not be getting any disability benefits any more.

Well, that was the Governments intention. However, despite the MUCH tougher criteria to meet to be classed as disabled now*, the Government has STILL had to add £1 BILLION to the ESA budget because so many more people than they estimated have been found to be UNFIT for work.

By tougher criteria - take epilepsy for example. Under Incapacity Benefit, if you had, on average, one seizure a week, i.e. 52+ a year, you qualified for IB. Under ESA, you need to have at least 2 seizures a DAY, i.e. 700+ seizures a year. Yet the Government is STILL having to add an extra £1 BILLION to the ESA budget. How much more would they have to add if they gave ESA to EVERYONE that should* be entitled to extra financial support on the basis of their disability?

My epilepsy hasn't vanished overnight, it's still uncontrolled by my medication, yet the DWP say that I am no longer disabled, and am, in fact, fully fit for FT work, despite a fit note from my Neurologist that states that I am only "Fit for Part Time work, on light duties only". But ATOS know better. Aparrently, my epilepsy should vanish because they say it should.

And ESA is only a Long-term benefit for 6% of people with disabilities...the rest,after a year, are expected to seek work. Even if their disability hasn't changed, and they are still disabled. Because, you see, the DWP and ATOS have SAID that they are to be fit for work, so therefore it is so. .

Are ATOS, the Government and the DWP under the impression that a life-long disability disappears because they WANT it to? It certainly seems that way?

'Scuse the rubbish bolding in my first post there.

56 posts
where is the anger?

Is there any point this campaign continuing?
Being as the Lords have now voted for the cuts.....

Plus the complete apathy on here... let's hope all those that are silent on this one never have to encounter this kind of thing happening to them eh?

I've posted a link on www.facebook.com/frothers and it's just gone out on Twitter. If you are on facebook please go to the link, like the page then click the share button under the post to share on your wall. Then unlike afterwards if you want.

Will push it using #frothers on Twitter.

Surely now it's through the Lords nothing can be done to stop this?

so sounds like this "campaign" is a bit too little to late.
sad that there is so little support for disabled people.

What? They can't have voted it through yet? It's still at the amendment stage. There's still a 3rd report stage and then it bounces back to HoC.

Have we got a source?

I think the cuts are despicable. What sort of pathetic excuse for a human being do you have to be to leave families with disabled children on the breadline? At a time when social care is being slashed too?

So much for all Cameron's claims that the Tories had changed - all that posing as the parent of a disabled child who understood what other people were going through. Didn't give a stuff as soon as he was elected. His personal experience doesn't seem to have given him any sense of responsibility for other people's children, who will be hurt by his decisions and his actions. He knows full well that people with disabilities face extra costs and knows full well how much damage his spiteful policies will do.

Well the Lords have passed it through but Shiney Dave could stop this if he chose to.

And what, exactly, are they doing to encourage employers to stop discriminating against those people with disabilities who are able to work? Huh? And where, in the middle of a fecking recession, are all these jobs supposed to come from?

sadly I think it is his personal experience that has coloured his judgement .
he has never had to beg ss for help or go cap in hand to charities or live on the bread line in a cold house with no sleep, like a lot of people with disabled children.
so most likely thinks people can manage with fuck all help

I'm someone who has suddenly become partially disabled this year, have never had to think about anything like this before and I will be totally honest here, I am ashamed to say I probably wouldn't have cared much, I would have been one of the Oh well it won't affect me camp

It CAN happen to anyone and it DOES happen to anyone. With no warning.

Please sign up even if it doesn't directly affect YOU just now.

seriously what's the source for this? The HoL debate is scheduled to continue on weds they can't have finished yet - even if they have there is still one more stage where revisions can be made by them PLUS it has to go back and be agreed by HoC, and if they want to change any of the amendments it has to go back to HoL...

It seriously can't be over yet!

I did ask MNHQ to do a campaign on this MONTHS ago when there was plenty of time. It didn't happen then.

I thought all the bill was being voted on stage by stage and this bit has been voted through with no amendment.

shineyDave told me to my face he would do nothing to harm disabled children and their families. I told him if he did I would be dropping dd round his house.

I'm following #wrb on Twitter to try to find out what's what. Nothing on news

From what I can gather HoL just voted against guaranteeing disabled children's benefits at minimum of current level.

found the footage.

crap.

There is still a chance, they can't debate the same amendment again, but if someone proposes an alternate one that can be debated at 3rd readings, so no it's not over, but would probably have to be a concession to get the votes they didn't get this time eg, benefits for disabled DC would not be less than 95% of current TC levels, or similar.

I say I've found the footage - it's hard to follow! The decision was around 8pm I gather? here if anyone can find the right bit of video

Glitterknickaz tbh looking at this thread, the chance of a big campaign from mn sin't going to happen,