Threat to axe disability benefits! Discussion Thread

SignificantAlter

Just came on to see if this has been mentioned.
We'd be stuck without DLA - the amount of hospital visits etc for the kids.

SEE

I got my first email request today, and I have emailed several Autism/Tourettes organisations.

It could make it more organised for us if someone compiles a post with all the organisation email addresses in. We could then all email everyone on that thread each Tuesday? Just an idea.

purplecatlover

i emailed these places this morning, all connected to mental health.
rethink [EMAIL="//info@rethink.org"]info@rethink.org[/EMAIL],
dial uk[EMAIL="//informationenquiries@dial.org.uk"]informationenquiries@dial.org.uk[/EMAIL],
sane[EMAIL="//info@sane.org.uk"]info@sane.org.uk[/EMAIL],
mdf (only email i could find)[EMAIL="//webadmin@mdf.org.uk"]webadmin@mdf.org.uk[/EMAIL],
carers uk[EMAIL="//info@carersuk.org"]info@carersuk.org[/EMAIL],
depression alliance [EMAIL="//information@depressionalliance.org"]information@depressionalliance.org[/EMAIL],
depression uk[EMAIL="//info@depressionuk.org"]info@depressionuk.org[/EMAIL],
[EMAIL="//first.steps@btconnect.com"]first.steps@btconnect.com[/EMAIL],
no panic[EMAIL="//ceo@nopanic.org.uk"]ceo@nopanic.org.uk[/EMAIL],
[EMAIL="//info@skill.org.uk"]info@skill.org.uk[/EMAIL],
[EMAIL="//mhf@mhf.org.uk"]mhf@mhf.org.uk[/EMAIL] ,
richmond fellowship [EMAIL="//marise.willis@richmondfellowship.org.ukdepression"]marise.willis@richmondfellowship.org.ukdepression[/EMAIL]


got a reply from rethink inviting everyone to have their say

Dear all

Many thanks for getting in touch with Rethink about the Social Care Green Paper and proposals to discontinue disability benefits. It is very helpful to hear your views on this. Rethink would not usually come out for or against such a proposal, especially since the Green Paper contains so very little information about it – without consulting people affected by new arrangements. This is why we have not publically opposed the AA/DLA suggestion. However, we are very concerned about what this will mean in practice for people with mental health problems, even if the theory of it could work.

We understand that the Government is struggling to find funding for a new Social Care System, which is why they have suggested incorporating relevant funding streams to go towards this. In theory, the new system will introduce a new form of assessment where people are able to identify their own needs. This will then lead to an allocated ‘Individual Budget’ which the person can spend on the support they think will best meet those needs. This approach is what the Government calls ‘personalisation’.

Rethink supports this ‘personalised’ approach, but we also recognise that local authorities have a long way to go in understanding how to support people with mental health problems and their carers. We are therefore concerned that the loss of DLA will not lead to an effective approach smoothly for mental health.

What can you do?

The most important thing now is for Rethink to have evidence to back up an argument against this proposal. This is essential. We can come out against this but we need examples, case studies and quotes! We have now published a web page which sets out the proposals and asks for your examples – all of this will be very helpful for us in being able to illustrate the impact of these proposals on mental health.

Please visit this page and tell us what you think! www.rethink.org/socialcare

You can also respond directly to the Government consultation – you can also access this from the Rethink webpage.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes

LameWolf

I have followed the link to Rethink and given them my topennyworth.

purplecatlover

update re tuesdays email campaign here, disability consortium now going to fight the green paper.
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/latest-news/1097-stop-press-charities-left-reeling-by-your-response

70sfreak

Dear All

I have had MS for 18 years and rely on DLA to pay for transport, treatments (yes- even physio I have to pay for!) and cleaning. It would be terrible to lose DLA,

I have sent an email to the MS Society and got the following reponse (non-commital in my opinion). I also sent email to Benefitsandwork as previously mentioned in this thread - hope I got the name right

Bye for now

70sfreak


PS Reply from MS Society is long, but helpful suggestions at the bottom.. I had to take the links fron the bottom part of the letter as I'm a new user and this posting wouldn't "post" with the original links in. Frustrating!

Here is the letter:


Thank you for your email asking about the MS Society's response to the
social care Green Paper, including possible associated changes to
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA).

I understand your query may originate following information from a
private company called Benefits and Work. Their information wrongly
implies that the MS Society is not fully engaged in these reform
proposals.

As context, the Green Paper is primarily a set of proposals for a new
social care system in England. One suggestion for funding that new
system is integrating disability benefits "for example Attendance
Allowance". The suggestion is effectively to divert the funds from this
non-means tested benefits into a reformed (and arguably improved)
'National Care Service'.

It's currently unclear precisely what this means, but it's being
interpreted by some as the end of DLA and AA. But to stress: this is
uncertain, which is why the MS Society is seeking clarity rather than
potentially misinforming our members and supporters. The MS Society and
other disability charities have already written to the Minister to seek
this clarification. The MS Society's best assessment at the moment is
that AA is under more threat than DLA. 3,000 people with MS claim AA;
more than 57,000 claim DLA, so we have an interest in both.

But please note that this is a 'Green Paper', which is a consultation
document, not firm proposals for changes to the law. It is indeed often
the case that such proposals do end up as law. But because there will be
a general election before June 2010, probably leading to a new
government, it is likely that these proposals will change and that no
changes will take place for the foreseeable future. It is definitely not
the case that either DLA or AA will change in 100 days, which is how one
recent email reported this.

If the proposals are indeed to abolish DLA and/or AA the MS Society
would certainly make a strong case for their retention - and engage with
our supporters to make this case. But it's simply too early to say. We
have until November to put in a submission. But there are plenty of ways
to engage with the debate now and up until November.

1) Attend one of the Department of Health's regional road shows

2) Write to the Department of Health with your views (contact as
above) or email your MP
3) Tell the MS Society what you think and we'll include this in our
submission to this Green Paper.

There's more information about social care reforms on the 'policy and
campaigns' pages of this website


There's also an article in the next editions of MS Matters and
Teamspirit. Also, the MS Society is co-hosting discussion on social care
reform at each of this year's party conferences, where people with MS
will be able to speak directly to MPs and councillors about DLA and
other issues. The Care Services Minister Phil Hope MP is among the
attendees.

Kind regards,

Dan Berry
MS Society

fatou256

i got a very patronising and disappointing reply form depression Uk

dear fatou,
Thank you for your email, and I understand your concern.

I regret to inform you that Depression UK does not get involved in
political issues.

Regards, Fred - Committee Member.

shame on them !!!!!

70sfreak

Outrageous reply. Not at all what you'd expect.
It must have been horriboe to have received an abrupt letter like that.
70sfreak

fatou256

yues it was disapointing to have received such an abrupt reply from them
Ii reply to them poiting out that although i thank them to take the time reading my letter and to reply that their response was very disappointing as we are looking up to them for support and make our voice heard, as a charity they have a stronger voice rather than an individual one .
I also mentioned that by being naive and complacent they are risking loosing support from potential member . I also in my e-mail that t i do understnad that they are v busy but that will do us no good if we were to loose our DLA how we will be able to look after ourselve or get better without any support because we do ntohave the finance for it .... none the less they answered that

Hello fatou,
Please understand that our unpaid volunteers work extremely hard to
support our depressed members. We are inundated with that work and
desperately need more volunteers (eg. A treasurer !), as I have stated
in the Support Us page of our website.

There is so much more that we would like to do, but we simply do not
have the time and resources to tackle them. We have no knowledge of the
benefits system. It would take up many hours of sometime's time to
attempt to understand it.
Regards, Fred.

Benefit and work were not very impressed either by their response. but i least i have tried to do my bit albeit small that is !

zzzLazyDaisy

I wrote to several charities. So far I've only heard back from one - the Parkinson's Society, who I wrote to on behalf of my Dad.

I won't post the whole reply as it was very long, but the essence of it was that they are looking at this, and while they feel that the new proposals may give better provision for parkinson's sufferers, they accept that the loss of cash will hit many people.

Personally I am worried by the reply - although I spelled out clearly how badly my father and his wife will be affected if these proposals go through - they do not appear to understand or accept the devastating effect these proposals could have. I haven't forwarded the reply to Benefits and Work - I'll do that now.