'Disability Allowance' to be counted as income.

nannytone_2

direct payments work best for me as i get the help when i want/need it without having to feel dependant on social services at all.

cyclamen ... delivery charges and taxi's would be classed as mobility and the mobility component is not included in the assessed amount.



also, i'm sure that Sldi are starting delivery

Cyclamen

Nannytone.. would be great if aldi do delivery :-) hadn't heard that.

What I was trying to say through drug addled brain was that the 'additional living expenses' that are the reason PIP exists don't just go away when you have social services care.

I know my care allowance part goes on allsorts of 'being poorly stuff' and a significant part of my husbands wages too.. so it seems unfair that the 'care allowance' of PIP/DLA is taken away from those receiving social care support when they still have the extra expenses that justified the payment.

I opted for direct payment too as I could choose my own agency and staff it helps to feel a little more in control and be able to 'cherry pick' the staff that are most able to support me and that I also feel comfy with as the whole situation is horrible.

In my ideal world.. pah like that would exist..

DLA/PIP would not be used as income for anything for anyone as it really is expensive being poorly.
Wages and pensions should be treated equally..either they count or they don't but not one rule for one and a different for the other.
Each county would have the same rules, it shouldnt be a postcode lottery on charging for social care.

I just don't see anything fair about the system

nannytone_2

i do understand what you are saying but i am looking at the bigger picture.

my council totally cit ANY help at all to anyone who's needs were deemed to be less than 'substantial'. so an awful lot of people now get no help at all.

if the care users were to stop being asked to contribute, then the amount of care, and who can receive it would also fall.

you need to consider which is more important to your daily life.
the full amount of PIP or the care you are provided with.

i live alone so my PA is invaluable, much more than the £42 is a week that she costs me.
my mobility component is taken up with petrol/parking/taxi's etc and so i only have £10 left of my DLA award to 'choose' what i need most ( equipment etc) but the alternative is to have all my DLA and NO help at all.
for me its an obvious decision and we can't have everything!

Cyclamen

Nannytone..i am with you on the care being vital ..hence i pay towards mine and will continue to do so.. life here is pretty non-existant without my carers and as much as i hate having care I am incredibly grateful for my great team.

I also know councils cut hours too many folks who need them and am disgusted by it.

I know of one area in london that doesn't currently charge any of its social services care users anything. They just opted out of asking for contributions.. yet other councils take quite large amounts from there service users. It just doesn't seem 'fair'.

The system is struggling and needs funds.. I don't know where from but that's the solution. Until then i'd like to see revised funding rules applied equally across all councils without the variations in rules.

You say 'We can't have everything'... yes i agree..but it's a very hard call when it comes down to choosing between heating bills, therapy and supplements, equipment etc.. and social care contributions..and that is the situation some are in.

Thankfully I do ok but I still find the whole system unjust and far from Fair as the title of the charging policy suggests.

I just can't comfortably accept that the additional costs of being disabled that qualify us for DLA/PIP magically disappear enabling claimants to then spend the DLA/PIP on Social care.. those needs and expenses are still there.

But we argue from the same side.. I am honestly with you I will always choose carers over the other things. They make such a difference and I will pay my 'contribution' as the council state.

nannytone_2

the only concern with it being made the same everywhere is that we all know what 'fair' means in terms of benefit.
everyone will be charged the same as the maximum charges are now.
so whilst some will be unaffected because they already pay this, a large amount of people will lose.

when i lived in london i got no help at all, and would have had to use my DLA to buy myself a few hours when i could afford it.

it is wrong that other people don't get what they need, but the answer isn't to create parity when it comes to charging, because as i said ... we will all end up paying more.

making someone else worse off will not make me better off

Cyclamen

I absolutely don't want to make everyone pay the max.. its the naieve person in me that thinks it should be middle ground.. everyone pay something using the same rules rather than some people pay everything and others nothing.

Hopefully with the new care act everyone in substantial category is now receiving support..that was the ideology around it.. but who knows...i suspect not.

The system is broken.. and as it is at the moment far from how i'd like it.

faerielight

I have a care agency and I hate it!! I have no control at all.. I have to have my dinner at 3.30ish and I have no control to keep a carer that I like.. The one I am stuck with at the moment t shouts at me and talks to me like I'm 90, deaf and dementia'd .. I can't stand another second more of life with care agencies.. I can't wait until social services sets me a budget and I can get a PA! I have to pay 69 pounds a month for my 45 mins a day.. is it the same amount of contribution for a pa as a care agency? My hours would be the same.

nannytone_2

the cit will be the same.
i pay £155 every 4 weeks, and that is my contribution regardless of how much or how little, help i receive.