I HATE the name of this forum - Disability and Dosh !

rogerblack

billywilly wrote: »

Not
It would be quite helpful that instead of just saying that, maybe people could give a breakdown on what these extra costs are.

There is also the awkward other side.
If I'm assessed as requiring 24*7 watching over for DLA, I get 83 pounds a week.
Can you tell me where I can get carers for 49p an hour?

Never mind the fact that upcoming, I would need to cover any pension costs for the carer out of that too.

pmlindyloo

rogerblack wrote: »

There is also the awkward other side.
If I'm assessed as requiring 24*7 watching over for DLA, I get 83 pounds a week.
Can you tell me where I can get carers for 49p an hour?

Never mind the fact that upcoming, I would need to cover any pension costs for the carer out of that too.

I am not sure that the 24*7 watching over is actually how it is defined.

If you look at this link

http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/benefits-information/law-pages/case-law-summaries/attendance-allowance-and#frequent

and click on the relevant parts the words 'prolonged' etc have not been taken to mean 24/7.

But, am in total agreement that the amounts awarded are pitiful in some cases.

lemontart

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-2967459/Pay-carer-pension-face-400-fine-Watchdog-s-threat-elderly-disabled.html

billywilly

m4rc wrote: »

If you don't have any different needs to anyone else maybe you are not disabled? Just a thought, maybe you just liked the free money and thought it would be good to scrounge until you got caught out and they took it all away. After all this bitterness and resentment towards people with genuine needs comes from somewhere.
Maybe I am not when compared to the PIP descriptors. However, it is very strange that I have been receiving IIDB for 20 years starting off at 80% going down to 40% for life which relates only to the mental health issue I have. I received DLA HRM & MRC for 19 years with quite a few reassessments thrown in for good measure. I have severe mobility issues as well as mental health ones and not forgetting the digestive and blood disorders. I survive on medication that runs into 5 pages of repeat prescription every month. Am under the care of 4 hospitals. My quality of life is restricted but even so I persevere and with a determined mind, try to live life as normal as I can.

Not getting PIP has through this website made me think more about the positives and for the first time I don't dwell on my issues, instead accept and embrace the fact that I may not be as disabled as I have been described as being by doctors and the DWP in the past. I do now wonder if everybody apart from the DWP were wrong
A little list for you, see if this helps:

Accommodation - needing bigger rooms, more room and space, if you need a bungalow these take up more space so you pay more for the same total floor space you would get in a 2 storey building.
I manage quite well in our 2 storey house. If I did have to move, my wife would buy us a more suitable place. How can it be an expense when it is an asset?

Car - if you can get around easily you have lots of options - walk, bus, bike, car share - and if you do need a car you can get something small and cheap. If you need a bigger car and can't get out without one hen what do you do? Apart from simply not get out of course.
Since when has buying a car been an expense that is solely related to having a disability? We have most always purchased our own car and all have been big enough to transport any amount of goods as well as a goodly number of grandchildren. We bought a new 7 seater Discovery Sport last October. which will be sold after 4 years for a similar vehicle. Buying and selling cars is an expense that everybody has whether they are disabled or not.
Mobility equipment - wheelchairs are not cheap. Some people are lucky to get a free wheelchair but ewe often will not meet your needs. If you use the chair for long periods of time you need to be comfortable or you can get very sore, it can cause injury and pain and suffering. A decent chair can easily cost £10k and some will cost 25-35k. Seating at home, you can't always just pop to DFS for a sofa on 4 years free credit, you may need adapted supportive seating. Home adaptations are available but the fund is not unlimited, and often you will need to pay to make adaptions to your home.

Personal care - if you are lucky you may get someone pop in to help you for half hour morning and night paid for by the local authority, for some that may be enough, for others they need a lot more support. Some people will qualify for and get more help, others have to pay for it. Either way it comes out of an allocated budget, you say people don't have expenses, I don't know of too many care workers who will happily work for free. We all know some of the scare stories around some (very few of course as most care workers are fab) so you want to pay a good rate.
All of my family pitch in with this. Purposely both my daughters live within a 3 minute walk from where we live. They have no intention of moving away knowing that they may be called upon to help out . I also have my wife that helps with the day to day issues.

Food - some people can't eat regular diets, specialist food costs more - next time you are in the supermarket check the prices for items in the gluten free section for example. If you are unable to cook you can't cook on a budget and may need to rely on prepared meals, or you may have to pay for someone to deliver meals to you. This costs money.
What ever the diet, I ensured that on retirement we would have enough money to live on quite comfortably.

Parking. Not all car parks offer free parking for blue badge holders, and they don't have to of course. Able bodied people have he option to find so,we here further out and walk in, this isn't always an option if you are disabled and the closer you need to park to your medical appointment or place you need to shop the more you pay. Most hospitals expect you to pay, some people are at hospital a day or two per week costing a couple of pound an hour, can cost £20+ per week easily.
Isn't that the same for the none disabled? I have always paid to park. The only benefit of a blue badge was (a) that you could park closer to the lift and (b) the spaces are bigger to accommodate the car and to avoid others damaging the doors of our car.

Bargain hunting - it's a lot harder to bargain hunt and save money if your abilities are limited in some way. You may not be able to scour the shops, you may struggle to navigate the Internet, you may have communication problems. Not saving money means you spend more.
Never had to, I took steps whilst working that we would always have a comfortable retirement no matter what issues are thrown at us

Energy bills - if you are at home more and less mobile you will feel the cold more. Our heating is on 24/7 365, this isn't cheap. Not much point turning it off if we go out for 2 hours, it's rare and the house takes time to heat up again. If you are home you are doing stuff at home, lights may be on, TV, electrical equipment uses electricity, that costs money.
We have been with the same provider since 1999. Our home is always at around 18/20 degrees summer and winter. There is no extra cost involved. The thermostat is permanently set at 18 in the summer and 20 in the winter 24/7

Telecare services - local authorities may have a Telecare type service (panic alarms, fall detectors, door guard systems etc) that they can install for free or very cheap, but you will often have ongoing costs, monitoring costs money, some people will pay £10 a week, some more, some will get it free. It's a lottery.
We made sure that we were living close to our family for this reason and would not need any outside interference

Prescriptions - some people will qualify for free prescriptions, some won't, they are certainly cheaper than paying in full for the medications but it's still a cost.
Being over 60 we get everything free

Clothing - some people will go through clothing quicker, some will need specialist clothing, material they can cope with, items without zips or buttons, some people may fall often and wear things out.
We haven't seen the need to worry about clothing. My wife is always buying clothing for us. Every week she comes home from the shops with shirts/jeans etc

Other equipment - have you seen the prosthetic limbs you get on the NHS? Many people will want to buy their own, and they cost a fortune plus they then wear out. New technology makes life easier, some of the arms and hands available now are incredible, but the price is pretty incredible too. You don't have to have one, but then you don't have to use your hand but you obviously choose to as you like living a normal life, why can't others?
Don't have any of these. If it does crop up in the future that is what savings are for.

Software - there is some great software to help people with additional needs - communication, input etc - but they are not cheap and also need updating. You may need an adapted computer to use them with too.
I don't have any problems on this score. My son in law would make sure that I have the necessary adaptions if they are needed

Assistance dogs - having an assistance dog for some people is a life changer, they may be your eyes, ears, they may sense you are about to have a seizure or hypo, they can help with household tasks, make you feel safe, they can give you a life. They also cost money to feed and care for. You can choose to buy a dog that you have to feed, insure, take to the vet, worm, groom, vaccinate etc. if you need this dog to help you live these things are compulsory.
Most people, disabled or not are responsible for a pet and all of the costs that go with having one.

Home maintenance - if your windows need cleaning you could choose to clean them, if your lawn needs mowing you could cut it, you could clean the guttering, you my even have the skills to fix a leaking tap, unblock a drain, paint he outside, fix the roof. If you have additional needs most of these things may be beyond your abilities. You may have so,done who can help for free, or you may have to pay.
We have always for as long as I can remember had a window cleaner every 4 weeks, a gardener and an odd job man as and when needed. That started when I was working and needed help around the house at weekends.. Addiitionally having two strapping sons in law, one a solicitor and the other an IT consultant they keep an eye on what needs doing for both of us.

Cleaning and housework - maybe you can Hoover and scrub the loo, some people can't. Cleaners cost money.
We have a lady that comes in once a week for an hour and another who takes the ironing and brings it back. Having a disability has nothing to do with that - my wife has hated cleaning and ironing for the past 35 years!

Shopping - you could walk to the supermarket (or drive) and get your shopping, also finding bargains and reduced items. If you can't do that you can rely on he supermarket to deliver, which is great and some are really helpful, taking the shopping to the kitchen and really helping. The delivery usually costs money, sometimes £5+.
If we don't go for it, one of our daughters does the weekly shop.

Holidays - it's a lot harder to just grab a last minute bargain and get to the airport as cheap as possible and get a last minute cheap flight and a cheap hotel room if you have equipment to take, a wheelchair, oxygen, mids, maybe your mobility needs mean you need more legroom on a flight, maybe you can't access the cheap apartments? Everyone is entitled to a holiday, UK or aboard the fact is it's more expensive to access a holiday if you have a disability.
We can't go abroad, no one will insure me! We have 4 holidays a year in the UK - all at short notice. We rent cottages.

There's more, but that gives you just a few to show these costs are actually not 'mythical' as you so rudely state. If you don't have any of these costs I would suggest you probably don't have a disability - there you go, I've cured you, though not of your arrogance and ignorance sadly.

Not cured, just simple financial planning in the past and looking after our adult children for the past 38 years. They now want to return the same for us.

So, being disabled in our case does not mean we have EXTRA costs.

rogerblack

pmlindyloo wrote: »

I am not sure that the 24*7 watching over is actually how it is defined.
<snip>
and click on the relevant parts the words 'prolonged' etc have not been taken to mean 24/7.

But, am in total agreement that the amounts awarded are pitiful in some cases.

Some routes to DLA require frequent/... help with bodily functions throughout the day or night.
Another route is 'continual supervision', where someone requires continual supervision to maintain safety.

R/A/1/73 mentions this in passing on page 6 at paragraph 15.
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/R_A_1_73.pdf

'It might indeed be helpful to ask also without substantial danger the disabled person could be left alone in a house for long enough periods to make the supervision provided not essentially continual.'

This is basically saying - as I read it that if you require someone to come and check on you every 30 seconds, this is not continuous, but it may be continual.

Former_MSE_Megan

densol wrote: »

I've always hated it. It suggests the disabled get the dosh ! It annoys me every time I click on it. It's not like disabled peeps have a choice either as to whether they are disabled

Rant over

Agreed. Send us some suggestions and we'll look at getting it changed.

Thanks

Richie-from-the-Boro

Initial blame goes to ' maytaurus - on 15-10-2008, 2:58 AM, and others ably supported by many current members such as 'zzzLazyDaisy'. I have from the outset spoken out against the word 'dosh' as in the Harry Enfield greed lyrics in the Loadsamoney song """ Bosh Bosh shoom shoom wallop DOSH """ and the last verse :

Ahh, Just loads of money
Sing a song of six pence a pocket full of dosh
Debo debo debo debo Bosh Bosh Bosh
Sing a song of six pence a pocket full of dosh
Debo debo debo debo Bosh Bosh Bosh
Sing a song of six pence a pocket full of dosh

I fully agree MSE Megan that the name should be changed and should never have been used in the first place.

sheep-ali

missbiggles1 wrote: »

my husband has very severe COPD (full time oxygen for 7 years, HR AA for about 4) and I couldn't really say that he has any extra costs.

I have severe COPD and I most definitely have extra costs - heating 24/7 , extra fuel for car because I can no longer walk the 50 yards to the shop , ready meals because I can no longer cook - the list goes on and on.

billywilly

sheep-ali wrote: »

I have severe COPD and I most definitely have extra costs - heating 24/7 , extra fuel for car because I can no longer walk the 50 yards to the shop , ready meals because I can no longer cook - the list goes on and on.

As I have said from the outset that the original statement that ALL disabled people have extra costs is plainly wrong. In fact the many that don't still receive the same level of financial support from the DWP as those that do.

So the statement should read that SOME disabled people DO HAVE extra costs, but OTHERS DON'T.

Right or wrong with the same level of financial support AND with no reference to the household income or capital SOME disabled claimants can use their DLA/PIP/AA money for other things such as more meals out, a better quality car, more expensive holidays etc.

I used my DLA payment to put towards the finance payments for a more expensive additional car.
Is that right or wrong? And if wrong how can it be resolved?

koiboy

For the disabled members on here come and join the campaign
http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/