Featured Title:
Free book with orders of £10 or over in our shop |
 |
| The Quest for the Shaman: Shape-shifters, Sorcerers and Spirit-healers of Ancient Europe |
 |
| Login |
|
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like your own home page, fewer ads, and your contributions link to your page. |
| Who's Online |
There are currently, 97 guests and 1 members online.
You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here |
| |
Forum: General Forum
Moderated by : Andy B , TimPrevett , Klingon , sem , MickM , TheCaptain , bat400 , coldrum , davidmorgan , Runemage , SolarMegalith
Respond to: Cuts severely affecting the lives of disabled people and their carers
|
| Review your Reply |
Sunny100
Joined:
20-03-2010
Messages: 216
from Near Nelson, Lancashire
 OFF-Line
|  New Message Posted!2012-01-17 17:44
I second that Rune. Here hear for the Baroness.
|
Runemage
Joined:
15-07-2005
Messages: 2412
from UK
OFF-Line
|  New Message Posted!2012-01-17 13:59
Anyone watch the debate in the Lords?
I only just caught the end of the Legal Aid bit but was impressed generally by Baroness Doocey's comments. Particularly the bit about the initial award process getting things so badly wrong in the majority of cases. If that was fixed, the need for appeals - and therefore legal aid expenditure - would be drastically cut.
Rune
|
Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 6992
from Surrey, UK
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-16 22:19
Mind say: Tweet to defeat. New PIP will fail people with mental health problems
http://www.mind.org.uk/blog/6275_tweet_to_defeat_new_pip_will_fail_people_with_mental_health_problems
Scope say: urgent help needed to keep legal advice available to all. (re: legal aid cuts)
http://act.scope.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1677&ea.campaign.id=13038
|
Sunny100
Joined:
20-03-2010
Messages: 216
from Near Nelson, Lancashire
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-12 18:20
Thanks so much Runemage. That is very easy to understand and well compilled and thought out. 
|
Runemage
Joined:
15-07-2005
Messages: 2412
from UK
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-11 23:46
I thought this was a very good presentation to help the many people who find pages and pages of plain text difficult to understand
http://www.unitedresponse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/DLA-Report-easy-read.pdf
|
Sunny100
Joined:
20-03-2010
Messages: 216
from Near Nelson, Lancashire
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-11 18:04
Thankyou for highlighting this Andy. I have friends who may be affected by the cuts to DLA and also the problems with ESA which is already taking effect. 
|
cerrig
Joined:
25-09-2009
Messages: 907
from Brecon Beacons
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-11 01:47
Shocking! Caring Conservatism is back.
|
sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1704
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-11 01:29
What a load of etc.
Us "Support Workers" are still earning our £6.79 an hour.
There's nothing like extreme autism to suggest that megalith builders were normal.
|
Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 6992
from Surrey, UK
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-10 23:51
This one's for those who think this might be 'typical Guardian reader nonsense'. Journalist and regular Mail blogger Sonia Poulton's contribution.
[David Cameron's] current big idea - the Welfare Reform Bill - may yet prove to be his Margaret Thatcher - Milk Snatcher moment. The point when people will look back and shudder at the sheer callousness of it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2084706/David-Camerons-Welfare-Reform-Bill-Hiding-truth-way-achieve-it.html
|
Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 6992
from Surrey, UK
OFF-Line
| New Message Posted!2012-01-10 23:29
Revealed: New Report shows overwhelming opposition to coalition’s disability benefit reforms kept hidden by the government
Conservative Mayor of London heavily critical of government’s plans for Disability Living Allowance
The report was entirely researched, written, funded and supported by disabled people.
A report published today (9 January) finds that Government misled MPs and Peers over the hostility to disability benefit reform. It finds that Parliament has been given only a partial view of the overwhelming opposition to the Coalition’s planned reforms of a key disability benefit, Disability Living Allowance (DLA). It finds that this opposition was previously not released to public scrutiny by the Government.
It is based on the responses to the government's own consultation on its planned DLA reforms, which were only made public once disabled people requested them under the Freedom of Information Act. Findings included:
98 per cent of respondents objected to the qualifying period for benefits being raised from 3 months to 6 months
99 per cent of respondents objected to Disability Living Allowance no longer being used as a qualification for other benefits
92% opposed removing the lowest rate of support for disabled people
In all three cases, as well as many others, London’s Conservative Mayor, Boris Johnson also objected to the proposed changes. He said in his response
“The Mayor would call for the Government to retain the three-month qualifying period as the increase to six months will mean that people with fluctuating conditions have increased difficulty meeting the qualifying period. People with fluctuating conditions face the same barriers that all disabled face in relation to higher costs of living and DLA is essential to maintain a decent quality of life.”
“We would recommend that the passporting system remains the same as under DLA as it has worked well when signposting people to additional benefits to which they may be entitled.”
“The Mayor does not support this change, as those on the lower rate care component may have additional costs as a result of their impairment but may lose their access to this benefit as part of the proposed removal under the reforms.”
The Mayor also objected to the government's strategy for clamping down on disability benefit fraud, arguing:
"The government proposes imposing penalties if disabled people do not inform the government in changes in their circumstances. However, the Department of Work and Pensions statistics give the overall fraud rate for Disability Living Allowance as being less than 0.5%. For those with fluctuating conditions asking them to report every change to their condition would prove very stressful."
The Mayor’s views were representative of the overwhelming majority of responses to the Government’s consultation..
The new report, Responsible Reform, suggests that the government’s DLA consultation breached the government’s own code of practice and was “highly misleading”.
Researchers have used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain more than 500 responses to the consultation that were submitted by disabled people’s organisations, disability charities and other groups – including the response submitted by Boris Johnson – and have carried out the first detailed, independent analysis of those responses.
The analysis showed overwhelming opposition to replacing DLA with a new Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The government also plans to cut spending on DLA/PIP by 20%.
The new report has been researched, written and funded by sick and disabled people, thousands of whom contributed to the research through their use of social media.
Its authors now hope to use the report to persuade members of the House of Lords to back an adjournment debate calling for a pause of at least 6 months. In that time, plans for PIP should be reconsidered with the views of disabled people properly taken into account.
The report has already been backed by organisations and disability experts including
Disability Alliance
Mind
Papworth Trust
Scope
Bert Massie CBE &
Ekklesia
Disability Alliance - "The Government's mis-portrayal of the DLA consultation response is truly shocking and could represent a betrayal of the process of consultation and engagement with disabled people. The Government has refused to provide a justification for a 20% cut in DLA expenditure and we fear that the same faulty rationale, misunderstanding of disability and higher costs of living and poor judgement exposed in this report sadly underpin the basis of the entire reform plans."
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of the mental health charity Mind, said:
“The ‘Responsible Reform’ report is essential reading for everyone with an interest in Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reform including the Government and Department for Work and Pensions Select Committee. It is a vital contribution to the debate on reform and a huge achievement for the volunteers who have produced it.
“As well as forensically deconstructing many of the arguments offered by the Government for their proposed reform, the report shows that much of the rise in claimants over recent years has been down to better access to the benefit for people with mental health problems, whose needs are often fluctuating and invisible.
“Rather than getting out of control as the Government claims, DLA has been increasingly going to people who really need it. The proposed 20 per cent cut to the budget will have an enormous impact on many people with illnesses and disabilities, and we remain very concerned about the unintended consequences this could lead to.”
Papworth Trust supports this report's concerns that the decision to reduce DLA by 20% may have been based on incomplete or misleading data about the reasons for growth in DLA. Our recent survey found that almost 9 out of 10 people would have to cut back on essentials such as food or being able to get out and about if their DLA payments were reduced or stopped under PIP. We believe that the proposed 20% cut will push more disabled people into poverty.
Given that this report was entirely researched, written, funded and supported by the people that these changes will affect, we believe that the questions it raises should be answered by the Government.
Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of disability charity Scope said:
“This report once again reveals the very real concerns disabled people have about the government’s reform of Disability Living Allowance.
“We know that this benefit is a lifeline for millions of people and families.
“It gives them the opportunity to meet the extra living costs they incur as a result of living with a condition or impairment and we know that people are genuinely worried about the impact these reforms will have on their quality of life.
“We urge the government to listen and act on these concerns and to ensure its replacement takes into consideration all the barriers disabled people face in everyday life so they can live independently and play an active role in their local community.”
More here:
http://diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.com/
Read the report
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/benefitsinfo/responsible_reform.pdf
Debate intensifies as controversial welfare reform bill enters crucial period in passage through Westminster
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/blog/2012/jan/10/welfare-reform-bill-live-discussion
| |
|
Main News