Budget - tougher for DLA claimants

digital-one

DLA was abolished.

Theres no point sitting there thinking it wasnt.

DLA was paid to anyone who had a disability, in two components mobility and care. The main criteria was how your illness affects YOU and in essence was available to anyone who met the criteria.

The NEW DLA

Dla is subject to a medical examination where the doctor will assess what you are able to do, only the most severe cases will recieve help. DLA is due to be phased out completely and replaced by ESA. This has been the plan since the green paper circa July 2009. Its heavily suspected the switch will be February 2011, when all DLA claimants will be moved to ESA.

There will be further cuts to welfare as each department is asked to claw back some of the 25% cuts, and suggest where cuts can be further made.

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Need a comparison check out ESA and how fundamentally flawed that medical is - DLA will use the same medical.

The new DLA does not account for mental health, your physical ability is not affected by mental health.

de1amo

so basically if you have a major mental illness you can be expected to function normally--strange how they suddenly change criteriors when the illnesses stay the same. Makes a mockery of how they did the first assessment!!

BLT_2

woodbine wrote: »

if you are entitled to dla why on earth would you want to take yourself off it?just wait 3 years and the tories will do it for you,they and their budget are pure evil.

I agree, how dare they try to balance the books, raise tax allowances and force people to justify why they are claiming allowances from the taxpayer.

Far better to let borrowing spiral out of control until we are even more of a 3rd world country than we are now.

Oh sorry, I see what you mean, the budget is pure evil because it impacts on your freebies, good point.:rotfl:

BLT_2

agal wrote: »

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You will have to take the test whether you are a new or existing claimant
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The test will replace the current application forms, where an applicant does not need to have a face-to-face assessment
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That sounds pretty fair to me, surely the only way to assess someones entitlement to any form of disability or any other allowance is by a face to face assessment.

[Deleted User]

digital-one wrote: »

DLA was abolished.

Theres no point sitting there thinking it wasnt.

DLA was paid to anyone who had a disability, in two components mobility and care. The main criteria was how your illness affects YOU and in essence was available to anyone who met the criteria.

The NEW DLA

Dla is subject to a medical examination where the doctor will assess what you are able to do, only the most severe cases will recieve help. DLA is due to be phased out completely and replaced by ESA. This has been the plan since the green paper circa July 2009. Its heavily suspected the switch will be February 2011, when all DLA claimants will be moved to ESA.

There will be further cuts to welfare as each department is asked to claw back some of the 25% cuts, and suggest where cuts can be further made.

=============

Need a comparison check out ESA and how fundamentally flawed that medical is - DLA will use the same medical.

The new DLA does not account for mental health, your physical ability is not affected by mental health.

Think you have your 'facts' wrong there. DLA has nothing to do with ESA which was brought in to replace IB (Incapacity Benefit). People will soon be moved from IB to ESA in the coming year. Both IB & ESA are out of work benefits for those who are ill.
DLA is a benefit for anyone who has extra needs due to disability if they work or not to help support and pay for those extra needs and let people lead a 'normal' life ie go to work!

DLA does and always has taken into account mental health and it can affect you physical health. Just as chronic conditions can affect your mental health!

BLT_2

deeplyblue wrote: »

NO! It does not.

Go back to when we had separate Mobility and Attendance Allowance. Mobility Allowance (which later became DLA Mobility) was first introduced as a benefit to help people in work. In fact it was some years before people without a job were allowed to get it. If higher level DLA(Mob) is helping this bloke keep working then it is doing exactly was it was originally designed to do. An adapted car and a blue badge are things that help keep people employed and off sick benefits.

Sometimes Attendance Allowance is also used to help people who need support to keep working also (though this is less common).

DLA is not a benefit just designed for those too ill to work.

I would be really grateful if someone who used to think that you only got DLA when you couldn't work would post here, saying, "Oops, never realised that." :eek:

db

I confess to issues with this. If you can work and obtain a full time income and carry out a job as a surveyor then why should you get state support. Is the DLA means tested in the way that other state benefits are?

If an able bodied man and a disabled man are both doing the same job, then this implies that there is no need for a disability living allowance, presupposing there is no need for personal care.

Both require transport to work and have to buy cars, both have the same income, ergo there should be no entitlement to DLA.

[Deleted User]

BLT wrote: »

I confess to issues with this. If you can work and obtain a full time income and carry out a job as a surveyor then why should you get state support. Is the DLA means tested in the way that other state benefits are?

If an able bodied man and a disabled man are both doing the same job, then this implies that there is no need for a disability living allowance, presupposing there is no need for personal care.

Both require transport to work and have to buy cars, both have the same income, ergo there should be no entitlement to DLA.

No because the disabled person is at a disadvantage when applying for jobs and may be limited in which jobs they can actually apply for. So may be out of work for much longer and have to fight to stay in a job.

There is often also many other disability related expenses that the person without a disability does not have to pay for. DLA helps pay for these things.

Doom_and_Gloom

Just to say a lot of people with disabilities use public transport, get taxis everywhere or get lifts to places. I certainly can't drive due to my disability. People with epilepsy may be able to work but quite a number of them are not allowed to drive. Also a disabled person on high mobility may only be able to drive through the car they get that is adapted to their needs.

One day I may be able to work again and DLA will make that alot easier as will a disabled bus pass. I will probably only ever be able to work part time if I can work again but just because some disabled people have managed to get help to work full time does not mean they are any less disabled. It just means that they found a work place that takes their disability into account and found ways to employ them/keep them employed. It may mean they get more breaks, work different hours to others, are watched for signs of distress/the need of help, have adapted equipment etc.

By the way DLA is not means tested and it never should be in my honest opinion. Such things as adaptations/equipment needed for home/going out etc are bought through DLA. These are things that non disabled people will not have to think about. It can also pay for taxis needed through disability needs. There are many assosiated costs that people without a disability do not have to pay for.

candykisses

_shel wrote: »

DLA does and always has taken into account mental health and it can affect you physical health. Just as chronic conditions can affect your mental health!

Thank you, I hope this is right because my mum receives it because of a mental health condition.

candykisses

On MoneyBox Live this afternoon (Radio 4) it was stated quite clearly that yes, only DLA claimants "of working age" will need to be reassessed, which obviously helps the older people and children if true.

I copied the above text from a previous post on this forum; I listened to the radio broadcast phone in and it did indeed say the above - has anyone else had any more information to back this up?