Government Trying to Abolish DLA and Attendance Allowance? - Page 7

jaysay · 18-09-2009, 10:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taggy

Kinda looking that way Jaysay aint it!...This whole Green paper rather looks like a Fishing expedition really, a lot of half thought out ideas and suggestions, but no real thoughts on how things will be implemented, by whom, and at what cost! As ever, there are certain things, in this case the Disability benefits questions, which are being hidden within a lot of waffle and jargon, probably to see if they can slip this kind of change in to an overall package, without people noticing...until its too late!!

Best Regards - Taggy

Seems like par for the course with this shower Taggy, they'll be waiting for a good day to bury bad news

Taggy · 25-09-2009, 16:43

Here's the link now for the Petition on the No10 website if anyone wants to oppose the possible scrapping of AA and DLA, ive signed it!

Petition to: recognise the vital support that Attendance Allowance (AA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) provide to disabled people, and to ensure that these benefits are secured and are not removed as part of any future reform of the social car

Best Regards - Taggy

jaysay · 26-09-2009, 09:16

Signed it Taggy

Taggy · 22-10-2009, 13:04

Well if anyone doubted that both AA and DLA were under threat of being abolished, they shouldn't be now! Here's a copy of an email i received from the Benefits and work website.

Looks like the veteran campaigner Lord Ashley will be helping oppose this, which is good news!

Best Regards - Taggy
.................................................. ................................................

A champion emerges as minister admits DLA threat
Dear Paul,
The last two weeks have finally removed any uncertainty about whether DLA is under threat, but they have also brought real cause for optimism.
Lord McKenzie of Luton, the parliamentary under secretary of state for work and pensions, was asked last week in a House of Lords debate which disability benefits the government are ‘considering integrating into the wider social care budget in England’.
Lord McKenzie replied:

“At this stage, we do not want to rule out any options and so are considering all disability benefits.”
Even when care minister Phil Hope’s claim that DLA is ‘not under threat’ was referred to and Lord McKenzie was specifically asked to rule out the using DLA as a source of funding for social care, his response was “no particular benefit is ruled out of consideration.”
So, whilst we can’t say why Phil Hope made his ‘be very happy’ statement, we can now say with certainty that it does not reflect the government’s stated policy. For more, see:
Senior minister confirms DLA is under threat
Senior minister confirms DLA is under threat
But that same Lord’s debate also brought a real ray of hope in the form of a champion prepared to fight for DLA and AA.
Lord Ashley of Stoke warned the minister that “any attempt by the Government to withdraw these benefits, or any benefits at all, will be very strongly resisted by disabled people, by their organisations and by many Members of both Houses of Parliament.”
Lords warn attack on DLA and AA will be “very strongly resisted”
Lords warn attack on DLA and AA will be â€œvery strongly resistedâ€
Lord Ashley – former MP Jack Ashley - is a formidable campaigner, with victories dating right back to the thalidomide campaign of the 1970s. It will not have brought any joy to ministers’ hearts to see Jack Ashley, and a number of other noble Lords, lining up against them. And it’s a tribute to the efforts of Benefits and Work campaigners that this issue has gone from being almost entirely unacknowledged – or dismissed as scaremongering - to being debated in the House of Lords in less than three months.
Elsewhere, the No 10 petition has perked up again, now reaching over 17,000 signatures. As few as another 1,000 signatures should see it getting into the top 10 petitions before the care consultation ends on November 13th. Do you know people who haven’t signed yet? Try and encourage them along to:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/AttendanceA/
Meanwhile, the Big Care debate website continues to be swamped by people protesting about the threat to disability benefits. From a feeble 130 posts when we began this campaign, there are now 2,219 responses on the Executive Summary page and 606 on Having Your Say. The total is far higher than that achieved by any similar government consultation and the responses are overwhelmingly hostile.
If you haven’t yet sent a response, please do so by visiting this link:
http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/greenpaper/execsum/
Or emailing: [email protected]
We’d like to close this newsletter with an email from one of our campaigners which we think is an inspiring example of spontaneous campaigning:
“Today I was in the Blackburn Shopping Centre on my Shopmobility scooter when I saw Mr. Jack Straw doing his shopping. It was too good an opportunity not to speak with him, so after a few swift manoeuvres I asked for one minute of his time. I told him that I had worked for the past 32 years in the NHS and had now been diagnosed with RA [rheumatoid arthritis] hence the scooter and that I have just been awarded DLA and what a difference it has and will make to myself and indeed others and to please not take it away…. He said “he wouldn’t” and gave me his card to write to him and of course I will follow it up with a letter.”
We’re not suggesting that gangs of claimants on Shopmobility scooters should roam our town centres hunting for MPs spending their expenses – pleasing though that image is - but if you’re able to, why not make an appointment to see your MP at their regular surgery and put your views across in person?
With an election looming, the fact that people are prepared to actually visit them in their offices will make a real impression, particularly on MPs with slender majorities.
Good luck,
Steve Donnison
Please feel free to forward or publish this email.
Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk
Company registration No. 5962666
POST YOUR NEWS
Finally, remember that you can post your news in the Benefits and Work forum, if you’re a member, at:
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum?func=showcat&catid=13
and/or in the free welfare watch forums at:
http://welfarewatch.myfineforum.org/index.php
You can also keep up with news about opposition to the green paper at the Carer Watch campaign blog:
http://carerwatch.com/cuts/
Unfortunately, we’re getting so many emails on this subject that we are unlikely to be able to respond individually. But we do appreciate hearing your news and views and we do encourage you to publish them for others to read on the forums detailed above.

cmonstanley · 22-10-2009, 21:06

when the tories get in there will only be two benefits,so they wont need as many civil servants and if you think its bad now just wait till then..

Taggy · 24-10-2009, 08:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

when the tories get in there will only be two benefits,so they wont need as many civil servants and if you think its bad now just wait till then..

Which is just as good a reason for signing the petition in protest at any attempt to rob some of the most vunerable people in society of Cash Benefits to help cover their extra needs because of Disability!

Government....and Future Government, need to know that they will face a backlash of Public Opinion if they try to cut their public expenditure, by inflicting poverty and extra hardship on people who already suffer more than most. Dont punish the weak and disabled to recoup loses incurred by the greedy and incompetant!

Best Regards - Taggy

BERNADETTE · 24-10-2009, 08:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taggy

Which is just as good a reason for signing the petition in protest at any attempt to rob some of the most vunerable people in society of Cash Benefits to help cover their extra needs because of Disability!

Government....and Future Government, need to know that they will face a backlash of Public Opinion if they try to cut their public expenditure, by inflicting poverty and extra hardship on people who already suffer more than most. Dont punish the weak and disabled to recoup loses incurred by the greedy and incompetant!

Best Regards - Taggy

Ahh but therein lies the lesson Taggy "if it don't affect me why bother?" Unless you have GENUINE need of these benefits you will never know just how degrading it feels to TRY and get them. The saying "there but for the grace of god go I" springs to mind when trying to get the point across

garinda · 24-10-2009, 09:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

Ahh but therein lies the lesson Taggy "if it don't affect me why bother?" Unless you have GENUINE need of these benefits you will never know just how degrading it feels to TRY and get them. The saying "there but for the grace of god go I" springs to mind when trying to get the point across

Without going over old ground, I do know, and even though I'm fairly compos mentis, I found the present system a nightmare to understand and access, and do think it could be made a whole lot easier for people to get the help they need, if it was controlled by one centralised body.

Taggy · 24-10-2009, 09:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Without going over old ground, I do know, and even though I'm fairly compos mentis, I found the present system a nightmare to understand and access, and do think it could be made a whole lot easier for people to get the help they need, if it was controlled by one centralised body.

I agree with all what you say about making the system simpler Garinda and making the care and the associated benefits easier to access, however this should not be at the expense of the cash benefits that disabled people need, and rely upon for the increased costs of their disability. This is the aspect to which i am drawing attention, and it is this part of the Green paper which i, and many others are opposing! Making a system better should not need to mean making individuals poorer!

Best Regards - Taggy

garinda · 24-10-2009, 09:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taggy

I agree with all what you say about making the system simpler Garinda and making the care and the associated benefits easier to access, however this should not be at the expense of the cash benefits that disabled people need, and rely upon for the increased costs of their disability. This is the aspect to which i am drawing attention, and it is this part of the Green paper which i, and many others are opposing! Making a system better should not need to mean making individuals poorer!

Best Regards - Taggy

If you can show me anywhere on the Green Paper, where it says financial benefits will be cut, then of course I would oppose it too.

I honestly haven't seen any evidence that this is proposed. Just that all the various different offices there currently are, will come under one umberella, and in theory, in my opinion, this will make it easier for those who desparately need help, to access it.

Taggy · 24-10-2009, 09:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

If you can show me anywhere on the Green Paper, where it says financial benefits will be cut, then of course I would oppose it too.

I honestly haven't seen any evidence that this is proposed. Just that all the various different offices there currently are, will come under one umberella, and in theory, in my opinion, this will make it easier for those who desparately need help, to access it.

Yep i can show you quite clearly where it states that Disability Benefits are under threat. If you look on pages 15, 40, 41, and 103 of the Green Paper there are clear references to "Disability Benefits" being looked at, and this is not just AA.

Also if you click on the link in the copied email i posted above, (Senior minister confirmes DLA is under threat) you will see quotes directly from Lord McKenzie of Luton, who is the Parliamentary under secretary of States for Work and Pensions, where he clearly says, even after specifically being questioned on DLA that the Government are "Considering ALL disability benefits"

This is a real threat trust me, and Governments must be made to realise that this is deplorable!

Best Regards - Taggy

BERNADETTE · 24-10-2009, 09:42

A clear case of the "powers that be" ommiting to state their true intentions until the it is to late mark my words.

Taggy · 24-10-2009, 09:43

Ive copied some of what is being said.

Here are some of the words being used in the Green paper, so that you can see that "Disability Benefits" are definately a target under this proposed scheme.

PAGE 15...." Integrating some elements of Disability Benefits, for example Attendance Allowance to create a New Offer for individuals with care and support needs"

"We want to ensure that people receiving any of the relevent benefits at the time of reform would continue to receive an equivalent level of support and protection"

PAGE 40 " If we do not reform the system, in 20 years time the cost of Disability benefits could increase by almost 50 per cent"

PAGE 41 " Funding for disability benefits will also come under increasing pressure"

PAGE 103 "The review recommended that if the Social care system were able to mostly meet the care needs of people who may currently only be supported through the Disability Benefits system, there would be less need for some of these benefits, and there might be the case for Integrating some Disability Benefits, Such as Attendance Allowance into the care and support system".
.................................................. .....................................
I had a Father with Parkinsons Disease, a Mother with MS, and i have a severely disabled Son with Hydrocephalus. I know what a great struggle life is for Disabled people, and on top of a good care package, Benefits such as AA, DLA and IB are crucial for them to be able to get through life with a modicum of independence, pride and comfort. Quite often Benefit money is used to help provide for extra Disability needs which would not be covered within a Social Services Care package.

Best Regards - Taggy

garinda · 24-10-2009, 09:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taggy

Yep i can show you quite clearly where it states that Disability Benefits are under threat. If you look on pages 15, 40, 41, and 103 of the Green Paper there are clear references to "Disability Benefits" being looked at, and this is not just AA.

Also if you click on the link in the copied email i posted above, (Senior minister confirmes DLA is under threat) you will see quotes directly from Lord McKenzie of Luton, who is the Parliamentary under secretary of States for Work and Pensions, where he clearly says, even after specifically being questioned on DLA that the Government are "Considering ALL disability benefits"

This is a real threat trust me, and Governments must be made to realise that this is deplorable!

Best Regards - Taggy

I'm sorry, that isn't the concrete evidence I was seeking, that financial benefits would be cut.

'Looked at' and 'considering', isn't proof that benefits would diminish.

In the trials for a new system, details of which I gave way back in this thread, it showed the cost of an improved service is initally more expensive, but in the long term it is hoped that it will be more cost effective, because more people would be able to live in their own homes for longer, and there wouldn't be the need for as many people to have full time residential care, until they perhaps need it later.

I'm sorry to disagree, but in theory, and at this stage that's all this Green Paper is, I support the idea.

Taggy · 24-10-2009, 10:02

Trust me Looked at, and Considering, and Integrating, is definately Political Speak for Cutting! And the comments on page 103 certainly refer to there perhaps not being the need for certain of these benefits.

As for the financial costs....well they havn't made any attempt at explaining how its going to be paid for!! Very Mealy mouthed wording, with the devil hidden in the detail!

Best Regards - Taggy