An end to DLA?

[SantasMooningArse]

C&P from NAS email

Dear all,

Thanks for recent email, expressing interest in reform to Disability Living Allowance,

The Government has today launched a public consultation on the replacement of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This will not happen until 2013.

Assessment by an independent medical healthcare professional will be introduced as part of the assessment. We are urging the Government to ensure that they involve people with autism and parents/carers in the reform to make sure that the new assessment fully takes into account the needs of people with autism.

Currently this new benefit is expected to be for working age disabled adults only. However, the Government is looking at whether to replace child DLA too.

There are some positive indications in the consultation document that the specific needs of people with autism will be taken into account in the new benefit. For example, it emphasises that in ensuring eligibility for the mobility component of the new benefit, ability to get around should look at more than a person's ability to walk and also include ability to plan a journey

We are also worried about indications in the consultation that re-assessment will become more commonplace as this may cause unneccessary anxiety.

We are also concerned that the intention behind the introduction of the new benefit is to reduce the number of claims for DLA overall. The proposals set out a plan to reduce the number of bands of benefit payment. They should be seen in the context of the Government's plans to cut the projected spend on DLA for working age disabled people by 20% over the next 3 years

The NAS will be working to ensure that these changes work for people with autism. We will be responding to the consultation and working on the Bill as it goes through Parliament.

We will be in touch again to let you know, how you can feed your views into our consultation response. You can also respond to the consultation directly. See: www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2010/dla-reform.shtml

Many Thanks

Sarah Lambert

The Policy and Campaigns Team
The National Autistic Society
393 City Road, London EC1V 1NG

Do I need to kill myself now? Can't read it as feel too sick

Feeling sick too DD

Scary shite

bloody hell that is scarey

I can't make myself read it.

We'd be up for that Riven.

presuming is SSD actively laughed in my face at our request for dp'sm then thes ereplacement things would get same result.

And even if not do we need a whole new system to get our heads around? I don't. Bastards.

Not happy.. Only just getting dla now ( after a good while not even knowing we could claim!) .. < throws hands in air>

Can anyone who deals with ASD register with NAS for that feedback thing mentioned? And maybe if you ahve a different bdx speak to your own charities- forward this to them?

TIA

Link that works

Deadline for consultations is 14 February.

Terrific news. DD's HRM started on Saturday

Of course we shall note the complete lack of anybody caring compared to teh CB furore.

Yep Starlight

Apparently I would be too highly qualified (I looked into it, workshy sod that I am )

I thin it is one of those performance (refusal) related two days on teh job training crap jobs. Like call centre, only hurting more people.

Hi I'm new to this site but felt like I needed to comment on this.

The only way that we can afford to let our dd have crucial swimming/therapy lessons is the DLA.
It's so important for those extras that make the difference.

Without the TCs etc I an;t even pay the rent. The TC's seem to be going whichever.

Now am trying to work out what the hell to do- trouble is if I bring the SW training forwards a year we still can't leave Wales until 2013, at the earliest, but Welsh training isn;t OK to practice with in England.

But staying here losing all the income would send us into the hands fo state housing and then we'd enver get out of here.

But it's the DLA stopping me working oh yes. And not for eg my Carer's paying for me to retrain mpart time.

marvellous, just what we all need Like life isn't stressful enough without having to deal with some clueless arse that isn't going to ever understand.

We plan to introduce the new benefit in 2013/14, when we will begin reassessing the working age (16-64 year olds) caseload. We are considering whether to reassess children and people aged over 65........

Im still reading through it, but this was on page 7 of the 45 page document and i cant do links,sorry.xx

I receive HRC, my son doesnt have ASD, he has medical problems and anxiety bought on by the medical and i had to give up job to care for him and the struggle with schooling, the DLA doesnt even cover the wages i lost, BUT reading the above it doesnt appear that it will affect children immediately.x

Bunch of tw**ts. They have no idea, do they? Agree with Riven.....it's time we got a protest going.

Some total arse has just made the decision to reduce my son's DLA. When I asked why, they said they did not consider my son's needs were as high as previously noted. I also asked which of the professionals had been asked for their opinion.......Perhaps the child psychiatrist treating his newly diagnosed OCD; the school SENCo who's just broken the news to us that he will not be able to access mainstream secondary school, despite his obvious intelligence; his teacher who acknowledges that his learning has stopped due to a massive deterioration in his condition? The behavioural psychologist who's known him since diagnosis aged 4? No. No one was contacted, no professional opinion sought, just a "no" decision. Not exactly an informed decision, then.

I am in the process of asking for another opinion and spoke to someone who clearly had no idea of what I was talking about. These
"medical healthcare professionals", I wonder how well qualified they'll be to assess or whether it'll be another tick list.

It's good news to me that the mobility will be more realistically assessed. My son doesn't leave the house now, his mobility has stopped despite being able to run like the wind! Could he walk unaided 50 yards away from his home? No. Impossible. There are many things affecting mobility - it's not all about wheelchair users and the chronically ill.