MSE News: Half a million could lose disability benefits

BigAunty

clemmatis wrote: »

I found an OECD report that says it isn't the case.

Same findings now I managed to dig out a report dating from 2009 that contained statistics for 2007, though it puts it in the top third of countries surveyed.

I found an OECD report that said the UK was 9th out of 28 countries for the percentage of people on disability benefits, around twice as many compared with countries like Spain, Italy, New Zealand.

The accompanying report refers to the 'medicalisation of labour market problems' in some countries because falls in unemployment were often accompanied by increases in disability claimants.

The following seems an accurate summary of the problems that came with Incapacity Benefit and some of the limitations of the current DLA benefits

"The inherent problem with most public disability schemes is that entitlement is not determined according to a reliable and valid assessment of a person‟s labour market competitiveness.

Instead, a medical practitioner with minimal or no training in the complex task of assessing how various injuries or ailments reduce labour market competitiveness, is required to estimate globally whether a person is unfit for work, including into the future.

In practice, such decision-making varies considerably and unreliably across practitioners. The result being that significant numbers of people with partial work capacity and who are not wholly uncompetitive in the labour market, become deemed unable to work. ... Upon receipt of a disability benefit, their formal obligation to seek employment ceases.

In most benefit systems, they are also indirectly compelled to remain inactive and assert they are incapable of work in order to continue to receive payments.

The abovementioned sequence shifts the purpose of publicly-funded disability benefits, from providing a safety net for persons who are unable to secure employment because their ability to compete for work is weakened (
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]i.e[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][/FONT][/FONT]. a labour market issue), to compensation for permanent loss of functioning due to injury or sickness ([FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]i.e[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][/FONT][/FONT]. a medical issue). "


http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/15/42699911.pdf

Ellejmorgan

FBaby wrote: »

That would therefore include those who posted on the thread about the man asking what his wife can claim as a result of her suffering from suppression advising that if she had supervision needs or needs for motivation she should apply for DLA. Of course those needs would apply to half the teenage population but am sure no one would suggest applying for DLA. But of course the suggestion of applying for DLA had nothing to do with the mention of the word depression.

You constant aggression towards people who have different opinions to yours only has for affect of making you not credible which ironically defies what you are desperate to do which is convince any one that you know better.

Just because someone is passionate about a cause doesn't make them aggressive, Fbaby you are wrong, I've never found this poster aggressive, perhaps you need thicker skin sometimes..

anguk

sangio wrote: »

Absolute rubbish!!

At the moment, you are eligible to be awarded DLA at the Higher rate for Mobility if you can show that you either cannot walk or virtully cannot walk - end of.

With PIP you will have to show that not only can you not walk or virtually cannot walk, but also that you are wheelchair bound.

If you do manage to mobilise say 20 metres before severe discomfort sets in and you can do it without a wheelchair,(maybe with a walking frame or crutches) then you will be classed as able to mobilise and not be entitled to the Higher rate any longer.

I thought with PIP you would be classed as mobile if you could self-propel your wheelchair for 20 metres? Being wheelchair bound will no longer be enough to get the higher rate, you would only be able to get it if you couldn't walk or self-propel and had to have a motorised wheelchair or someone to push you.

Dunroamin

sangio wrote: »

We do! They are called Consultants

Don't be stupid Andy, if they're consultants then they're not GPs.

shedboy94

cit_k wrote: »

Your a 'benefit advisor'?

Working for the dwp, Im guessing you are, as you seem completely clueless on the subject of benefits.

For starters, its not 0.05 percent its 0.5 percent .

Tip - give up the day job and let someone who knows what they are doing take over - it is unfair for someone clueless to be advising people on benefits.

You guess wrong, I don't work for the Dwp. Regardless of what the stated figure is, my point was that fraud levels are always understated because the higher the figure, the worse they look. Also they only ever use a small sample of claims to get the estimates.

Judging by the number of posts you have you clearly don't work and therefore probably are an expert on benefits.

I'll keep administering the benefits and you keep looking for work......in between all your time on here obviously......

Ellejmorgan

shedboy94 wrote: »

You guess wrong, I don't work for the Dwp. Regardless of what the stated figure is, my point was that fraud levels are always understated because the higher the figure, the worse they look. Also they only ever use a small sample of claims to get the estimates.

Judging by the number of posts you have you clearly don't work and therefore probably are an expert on benefits.

I'll keep administering the benefits and you keep looking for work......in between all your time on here obviously......

Terrible attitude towards disibility, don't be so self assured as aren't there going to be government cuts soon within the benefits service..I know for a fact that there are job loses within the HMRC, i'm sure others will follow suit..

Didn't take much as well for me to have a disability, I went to bed and woke up like it, so don't be so sure it won't happen to you..

shedboy94

cit_k wrote: »

If you have not claimed yet, you have no idea if you would be eligible for ESA [at least without a year wait for an appeal], remember - we are talking about 2 highly incompetant places - atos and the dwp.

The attitude you speak of will be fed by propaganda - something the DWP has played an active role in promoting.

Seeing as the poster worked for DWP, I think it's fair to say they would have an idea of whether they would qualify for a benefit they used to administer.".....

FBaby

Ellejmorgan wrote: »

Just because someone is passionate about a cause doesn't make them aggressive, Fbaby you are wrong, I've never found this poster aggressive, perhaps you need thicker skin sometimes..

Thick skin I do have that's what has made me cope with high levels of stress and stay at work when others have gone on to be signed off work for months. Being passionate doesn't give any one the right to belittle any one's else opinion because it differs to yours. One person's rubbish is another one's treasure!

Ellejmorgan

FBaby wrote: »

Thick skin I do have that's what has made me cope with high levels of stress and stay at work when others have gone on to be signed off work for months. Being passionate doesn't give any one the right to belittle any one's else opinion because it differs to yours. One person's rubbish is another one's treasure!

Do they have the same condition as you then ???

Mrs_Arcanum

sangio wrote: »

Absolute rubbish!!

At the moment, you are eligible to be awarded DLA at the Higher rate for Mobility if you can show that you either cannot walk or virtully cannot walk - end of.

With PIP you will have to show that not only can you not walk or virtually cannot walk, but also that you are wheelchair bound.

If you do manage to mobilise say 20 metres before severe discomfort sets in and you can do it without a wheelchair,(maybe with a walking frame or crutches) then you will be classed as able to mobilise and not be entitled to the Higher rate any longer.

Not rubbish at all! DLA can be claimed after 3 months of developing the need for some help with either mobility or care needs. So someone with a very slow to heal injury can claim relatively quickly. Some have continued to claim despite being cured as there is no re-assessment process for DLA.

If you are currently in receipt of higher rate DLA you WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE this for a transitional period until the NEW rate catches up with what you currently get. Provided there are no changes to any benefits you claim once PIP comes in. They are likely to use changes as an excuse to re-asses under the new system.

There will be NO lower rate which is where some savings will come from.

The descriptor for mobility is likely to be "Cannot move up to 50 metres without using a wheelchair propelled by another person or a motorised device." This could mean a car is essential and not necessarily mean only a wheelchair.