Urgent - Government Proposals To Axe Dla And Aa

[boston3603]

HAVE JUST EMAILED MY DLA OFFICE TO FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON.

[Mother of My Peace]

Signed - just had my renewal through "indefinitely" thought I could stop worrying

[The GodMother]

Theres a definate pattern involved when it comes to caring. Nurses, police, ambulance, fire, air rescue, sea rescue, home care.........all get ****e wages BECAUSE they care. So those who care for rellies or friends get even less. BECAUSE they care. Its exploitaion. b*****dS.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

 

 

Completely agree.

[Emma Royd]

signed

 

My 16 year old has just been awarded DLA

[bambinaia]

Signed.

God help us if the social services get hold of this- my daughter has Aspergers & at present gets DLA however according to SS she doesn't meet their criteria for help so in effect she wouldn't get anything!!!!

[Zimmie]

If this goes ahead and AA and DLA funds are paid to Social Services. Does this mean SS will send a worker around to walk round the the local corner shop at 9pm with you, or accompany you to Asda, or your Doctor's surgery? Will they make frequent phone calls to check you've taken your medication, eaten, got dressed, are safe? Will they be on the end of a phone line at 3 in the morning when you are distressed and at risk of self harm? No of course they won't.

 

The whole idea is a disgrace which will only serve to worsen the lives of many already vulnerable people who rely on informal support to get by and live as 'normal' a life as possible.

 

Some years ago the words 'Care in the Community' were bandied around as being the best way for ill or vulnerable people to have a better quality of life, this soon proved to mean 'care by the community', and despite this all of this really being a cover for service cuts many friends and family stepped up to the mark and took on the responsibilities of care.

 

So if the funding goes to Social Services will they pass on the money to informal carers? How will it be adminstered? How will they decide on what informal carers should receive. If the intention is for SS to pass the money on for care duties carried out by informal carers the costs of administering it would more than likely swallow the entire amount....plus!

 

There's nothing like a dose of beauracracy and cost cutting to cure the sick and vulnerable. I remember in the early 1990s when the Local Government I worked for responding to the The Community Care Act by closing the majority of Older People's Care Homes, the residents were shifted from here to there, many died shortly after...hey presto 'we obviously didn't need the all the homes'.

 

Call me a cynic because I am, but having had many years experience working in various Social Services areas I have yet to see a policy change which benefits anyone other than the service provider

[linz74]

Signed

[banker_rhymes_with]

Hello Folks!

 

Doesn't it give you all a warm, fuzzy, funky feeling knowing the self-serving Politicians could find £500 billion number-monies to bailout their greedy mates the bankers.

 

Someone has to pay for that, and they clearly feel they can start the ball rolling by kicking Carer's and people in need of DLA/AA straight in the teeth.

 

I recently investigated the options for us to get additional help with a very ill member of my family, and found they could put together a Care Package for us, that we would have to pay for, that involved various strangers pitching up at random times to do a specific task to help us!

 

Thanks, but no thanks. Like many, we'd prefer to keep on doing it ourselves, and we'll keep on squandering the £50 a week we get for being a Carer for someone in need of 24x7 Care (who gets AA).

 

Take the vital AA away, and it becomes a complete and utter pith take. The Carer's element is derisory, but at least the AA helps. Lose that and it all becomes a nightmare, very quickly.

 

Brace yourselves for their next stupid move. Don't be too surprised if they bring back the Window Tax!

 

But it's really all OK, because we should derive pleasure from the fact that some of the bankers are already starting to make billions in profits again, and paying themselves fat bonuses whenever they strike lucky when playing at the recently re-opened Magic Banking Usury Casino.

 

Cheers,

BRW

[Jan4a]

will sign and get my parents to do same - one on DLA, the other carer.

 

didn't have a clue about this until saw this announcement!

[Maggie_moo]

Hello Folks!

 

Doesn't it give you all a warm, fuzzy, funky feeling knowing the self-serving Politicians could find £500 billion number-monies to bailout their greedy mates the bankers.

 

Someone has to pay for that, and they clearly feel they can start the ball rolling by kicking Carer's and people in need of DLA/AA straight in the teeth.

 

I recently investigated the options for us to get additional help with a very ill member of my family, and found they could put together a Care Package for us, that we would have to pay for, that involved various strangers pitching up at random times to do a specific task to help us!

 

Thanks, but no thanks. Like many, we'd prefer to keep on doing it ourselves, and we'll keep on squandering the £50 a week we get for being a Carer for someone in need of 24x7 Care (who gets AA).

 

Take the vital AA away, and it becomes a complete and utter pith take. The Carer's element is derisory, but at least the AA helps. Lose that and it all becomes a nightmare, very quickly.

 

Brace yourselves for their next stupid move. Don't be too surprised if they bring back the Window Tax!

 

But it's really all OK, because we should derive pleasure from the fact that some of the bankers are already starting to make billions in profits again, and paying themselves fat bonuses whenever they strike lucky when playing at the recently re-opened Magic Banking Usury Casino.

 

Cheers,

BRW

 

Ah yes, and lets not forget the unfortunate politicians who have to scrimp and scrape now since it all went t***-up with their expenses claims. Let's not forget while they're threatening to remove our much needed benefits, they still get council tax picked up, not to mention second home allowances et al. Must be a hard life being a politician.

[The GodMother]

to dam rite Maggie. hard life it really is with all the needing to declare and actually having to deal with there consituants. Some of which dont even get the £50 a week cares allowance.

[Robdblynd]

Signed.

 

Thanks for the heads up .... OH and I are 24/7 carers for my mum and I'm disabled and on DLA so poor OH has to help me as well.

 

If this goes ahead we, like many, will be hit with a double whammy whhile the bankers and poiticians go on their merry way bemoaniing the fact that their expenses have been 're-designed' and it's not so easy to finangle the system anymore. Poor things. :mad:

[billgrantmac]

My wife and daughter both get DLA my wife phoned they benefits agency the informed her that DLA will not be affected and that another email from the Government will be issued next week informing people of this. So do not worry.

[Maggie_moo]

My wife and daughter both get DLA my wife phoned they benefits agency the informed her that DLA will not be affected and that another email from the Government will be issued next week informing people of this. So do not worry.

 

You are correct, and as of yet not even AA is affected as this is only at the green paper stage.

 

However the proposals were not widely known about, and as AA is the over-65's version of DLA, the worry is that these proposals would be pushed through without most people's real knowledge and minimum fuss. The natural step following this would be exactly the same for DLA. The removal of both these benefits is a very real threat, (the green paper states 'Disability Benefits' as a whole, which incorporates DLA as well as AA) and that is why most people are up in arms about it.

[photoman]

Subscribing.

 

BTW: Bilgrantmac .... How to tell if a politician or Civil servant is lying..... Their lips will be moving !!

 

They may be offering some reassurances now, but even if true that DLA would not be affected at this current juncture, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

If something like this went through with little resistance, then that would be considered by the politicians et al as licence to get the axe out for all manner of essential life supporting benefits (in order to fund their bailing out the incompetent and greedy bankers etc).

[lickthewallfatboy]

disgusting liebour govt and disgusting politicians in general

 

they make me want to vomit

[postggj]

Can Any Body Confirm Who Is Dealing With Assesments Of Claims From A Medical View

 

Is It A Private Company Working For The Goverment Called atos

 

They May Be Doctors But They Work For This Company

[yourbank]

Having read the documents, those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are unaffected by these proposals. Only England are affected so if you are living on the border with Wales or Scotland or Northern Ireland, there is one piece of advice

[Bincrunched]

Signed & subbed

 

It's typical that Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland are unaffected only in England do we get ripped off the most!!

 

It's disgraceful that the Govt should penalise the weakest yet again, I would not have known about it if not for CAG.

 

I'm sooo grateful for this site & It's members in bringing all this info to us & allowing us the chance to fight back!

[The GodMother]

atos are DR who work for the DWP on Income support/Incapacity benefit claims but i dont know about DLA.

[Zaizen]

My neice gets DLA and her mum is her full time carer and because of her needs my brother can only work part time if they get cut off from DLA they wont be able to survive! This is utterly disgraceful im making sure to forward this to everyone in my contacts list!

Signed!

[boston3603]

Thank you for your email, a Green Paper on the care and support system in England was published on 14 July. It discusses the option that some disability benefits could be reformed and the funds integrated with the future care and support system. No decisions have been made - the Green Paper is a consultation exercise to allow the public to contribute to this debate on long-term reform. I hope this answers your query, but please don't hesitate to get in touch if you need any further help or information.

[GhostDebt]

Signed up.

[alanfromderby]

This is an email that has been sent out by benefitsandwork, and outlines the next stage of the campaign:

 

 

 

Dear CAG

 

Persuading disability charities to speak out against the threat to disability benefits is absolutely crucial. Unless leading agencies like Mind, Arthritis Care and the MS Society are prepared to openly oppose these proposals it will be very difficult to halt them. The government will be able to argue that they consulted with 'stakeholder' organisations and they supported the green paper.

 

So whether they are swayed by the strength of your arguments or alarmed by the prospect of losing members who feel abandoned by them, it's vital that they commit themselves to defending AA and DLA. So far only RNIB has been courageous enough to risk the wrath of six secretaries of state rather than desert its members.

 

So what we're going to suggest you do today this week is to get in touch with a local or national disability organisation, preferably one that deals with a condition that affects you or someone you care for.

 

Even if all you can manage is a quick email saying: 'What are you doing about the green paper plans to abolish some disability benefits?' that will be enough to make them realise people are aware of, and concerned about, the issue.

 

But if you feel able to write in more detail, below are some of the points you may want to make. We haven't written a standard letter or email for people to copy because we think that they may quickly be dismissed as just a sort of spam.

 

1 Explain very briefly that you are concerned about the proposals in the Shaping the Future of Care Together green paper to integrate some disability benefits into a new funding stream for a National Care Service

 

2 Explain why DLA care component or AA is important to you.

 

3 Point out that it's vital that their organisation work with other disability charities to fight with you on this issue, because the government will find it hard to ignore a wide coalition of disability organisations.

 

4 Point out that RNIB have put a statement on their website saying they will oppose the scrapping of AA and other disability benefits and that if such a reputable organisation is prepared to do this then there's no reason why every disability organisation can't do the same.

 

5 You might want to explain that at the moment the campaign against abolishing disability benefits is being led by a private sector company and that you think this is highly inappropriate, it ought to be a coalition of charities leading the way.

 

6 You may also want to suggest that if charities look the other way as their members are deprived of a vital part of their income then it may result in charities getting a great deal less support, fewer members and fewer donations in the future.

 

7 Most important of all: ask for a reply. And if you don't get one, keep going back until you do. And when you do, send us a copy and we'll publish at least some of them. Or if you're a Benefits and Work member, post the reply in the forum here:

 

http://www.disney.go.com/mickey//for...owcat&catid=13

 

If you'd like to contact more than one charity, then members of the Disability Benefits Consortium are worth considering. This is a coalition of charities which "aims to lobby and campaign on welfare benefits as they relate to disabled people." Clearly they are the people who should be running this campaign, rather than Benefits and Work.

 

You can find the email contact details for all these organisations on this page:

 

http://www.disney.go.com/mickey//for...id=13&id=10362

 

Another possibility is the members of the green paper stakeholder panel. There's a list of the members here, though we haven't had time to research email addresses - volunteers to do so would be very welcome:

 

http://www.disney.go.com/mickey//for...id=13&id=10356

 

If you want to be getting on with other things rather than waiting for next weeks' email, then there's a few suggestions here:

 

http://www.disney.go.com/mickey//dis...ts/take-action

 

Thank you again for signing up to the No More Benefits Cuts campaign. At the time of writing you are one of an astonishing 13,815 people who have done so in less than a week.

 

You can read more about what's been happening, from RNIB's statement to details of a local campaign in deepest Cornwall, on this page:

 

Many thanks also to everyone who's been in touch. I do apologise if we haven't replied to your email or returned your call - there have been many more than we could cope with. But we do very much appreciate hearing what people have been doing.

 

Please feel free to forward or publish this email.

 

Good luck,

 

Steve Donnison

[msowing]

I have a quick question. I read the papers but couldnt see it mentioned. [unless of course i missed it].

 

IF the greenpaper goes through what happens to people who been awarded a 'life' [indefinate] award for DLA? My son was awarded both when he was 16 yrd old. He was assessed as needing 24/7 care for the rest of his life.