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

I need to make plans in the next few months about whether to apply for my SW training though Electra, and based on that is a decision about which country we live in; no DLA means I can;t afford to take the raod out of poverty somewhat ridiculously- DH would need access to carer's guaranteed in case the business which is quite new didn;t cover the bills when I study FT.

2013 is too late to make that decision and tbh a bit of me thinks if I have to work in the local supermarket (not that they are hiring either) I may as well cut paying for my MA now and start saving teh cost.

(And before anyone says there's nowt wrong with the supermarket- absolutely, except for the many thousands of student debt I have run up to get this far).

oh and I don't think all tories are horrid- I know several rather nice ones who would ahte the idea of the disaled being targeted in this way, it's the fraudsters and laybouts they ahte which I understand but do not accept has anything to do with us genuine claimants- but I do loathe Gideon et al, and the specific ideology branch that says we could surmount anything if we trried hard enough: i thought like that once (not the disabled people could but that I could find a solution to things IYSWIM) and it was a long drop from the ivory tower.

Dear DH of Mumsnet poster

The recent debate on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) was a huge success. Over 700 of you contacted your MPs, who came out in force at Westminster Hall on 30 November. It was a clear sign to the government that it is making a huge mistake by removing the mobility component of DLA for people living in residential care homes.

However, the government is still refusing to change its position and we need your continued support to make sure disabled people are getting a fair deal. The government has proposed this cut on the basis that the needs of people in residential care homes are met by their local authorities. But this is simply not true. The government needs to acknowledge the impact of cutting this benefit on the lives of disabled people.

During the debate, Minister for Disabled People Maria Miller said: ?We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the independence of disabled people living in care homes is maintained, and that is our prime responsibility.?

If the minister is serious about following through with this commitment, she must help to reverse the decision on DLA.

Please email Maria Miller now to tell her what you think of the cut to DLA.

Yours sincerely,
Esther Foreman
Campaigns manager
Mencap

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that was crap wasn't it?

under the last post is a C&P of an email Dh just received.

Nope...don't live in Wales. Lived then in Hereford, now Cheshire.

Good luck with the DLA. We had our DLA reduced to middle rate and am appealing this. Early days though. My son is up 2/3 times nightly and we have to go through the whole rigmorole of his checklists (involving me crawling around the floor checking various wires are not "touching" and plugs are off etc) and still they said he doesn't warrant HRC component. My son "punishes" himself at ALL HOURS OF THE DAY OR NIGHT by trapping his fingers in draws and leaning on the drawer to add pressure or, running his hands under either very hot water or very cold water. But apparently, he's safe and requires no more supervision than your average 10yr old. What bollocks! THEY should try living this way for a bloody week and see how knackered and fraught THEY feel!

What will affect children though is their parents who are in genuine need of disability living allowance are being tested by ATOS who are turing down applications like thers no tomorrow.
I worked as an educational social worker and worry about young carers,if their parents are being wrongly accessed then the children will not be able to get the support they need this will result in child mental health issues,their education will suffer and in some cases socio economic distress will also make thing very hard for these youngsters.
we need to support all the genuine dla claimants.
LILLY