Winter fuel payment petition

C_Mababejive · 13 January 2010 at 10:23AM

BargainGalore wrote: »

Disabled can feel the cold as much as elderly especially if you have issues with circulation

I appreciate the sentiment but we cannot have everyone who is classed as disabled being added to the payout list.

All sorts of ailments can be classed as a disability eg depression,bad back etc.. I have them all and yet i press on. The last two weeks i have been out working daily in the snow and ice.

Who is going to pay MY gas bill?

I am not going out sweating my nuts off to pay the bill of someone whos skulking round the house with some minor ailment. It isnt my fault.

I dont mind helping some poor old dear who lives in extreme poverty in some draughty old house.

I think such payments should be universally means tested.

My cure for the cold for the last three weeks when i have been out working is a shovel in my vehicle,a pair of thermal long johns and a thermal vest, a woolly hat and a pair of sunglasses to prevent eye strain from the bright white snow when driving. If that keeps me going when im out working with my bad back,bad neck,elevated stress levels and generally feeling of being knackered then i recommend it for all in the home though you might not need the sunglasses.

Indie_Kid · 13 January 2010 at 10:37AM

Aputsiaq wrote: »

Oh deary me, do you? So do young families with little children, where is their help? Where is the help for a number of people with 100's of illnesses that don't class as disabilites?
If you are severly disabled you will get disability benefit, and therefore will get the CWP.
If you are on other DLA, then that is what the DLA is for, to help you live a normal life.

I suggest you look up the criteria for CWP.

DLA DOESN'T cover everything. Tell that to a friend of mine who receive HRC and doesn't see a penny of that for equipment they need. And social services / ILF want more than what their DLA is.

If it did cover everything, then why am I having to save up my care component for 2.5 years (yes, really) just so I can read properly? And why are some of us having to use our own money to pay for the equipment we need? By the time I've paid for the food, (because I'm wheat intolerant) wet wipes and nappy sacks, that only leaves me with a couple of quid each week- that will not cover the extra water or heating I need to use.

Severely disabled people don't all get disability benefits.

bryanb · 13 January 2010 at 10:44AM

Is this thread about Winter fuel payment (as title) or cold weather payment? They are completely separate payments with totally different criteria. They are paid to different groups of people.
Just to clarify, Winter fuel payment is nothing to do with cold weather, it is paid to all British pensioners, even those in Spain. It is also paid to men 60+ in full employment if they choose to claim.

summerof0763 · 13 January 2010 at 1:55PM

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Oh yes,this country is swimming with money. Pity the poor taxpayer. count me out.

your obviously not disabled,i paid my taxes for years until i pysicaly could no longer work,but wish i was in a position where i could work

welshmoneylover · 13 January 2010 at 2:21PM

sh1305 wrote: »

And why are some of us having to use our own money to pay for the equipment we need?

And what is wrong with this? I also use my own money to pay for my own needs.

By the time I've paid for the food, (because I'm wheat intolerant) wet wipes and nappy sacks, that only leaves me with a couple of quid each week- that will not cover the extra water or heating I need to use.

People who work are also left with a couple of quid each week once all bills are paid.

Things are tough for everyone right now.

misty_blue_2 · 13 January 2010 at 2:27PM

i can see both sides of the argument

firstly i have MS and am bedridden, also i suffer with touch sensitivity so i cannot bear anything touching my skin, very hard when it is freezing cold to try and keep warm, my duvet has to be lifted off me with a blanket lifter .
i can only wear the lightest of clothing on top and nothing on my legs as they are so sensitive.
It costs a fortune to keep my room warm, as like i said i cannot bear clothes on me to keep warm, also i have to be turned in bed every 2 hours to stop getting bed sores.
Yes i get DLA high rate care but this is taken up paying for my care needs and the high living expenses that come with being so ill.

On the other hand the extra money for cold weather payments i get no matter how small is very much appreciated.
I worked 3 jobs before i took ill, and wish i was capable of work now, but alas i am not.

yes my heating bill is huge, yes i find it hard to pay, but it has always been the case that you use more heating in the winter months so the bills are higher.
my disablity makes it hard for me to keep warm, but where do we draw the line.
It would be nice to get a fuel allowance like pensioners do, but we dont , some might think its wrong, others not, i myself think life is too short to worry about it .

yes it is hard but life is hard for everyone, not only us disabled people.

sheeps68 · 13 January 2010 at 3:06PM

I too see both sides of the story and the line has to be drawn somewhere.

I dont thnk the use your DLA to pay for extra heating holds any weight as that is to pay for additional and care needs. Yes it certainly helps pay for those and for that we are greatful. But for example my DLA low care is to pay for ready prepared veg, practical help to undertake basic tasks eg assistance shopping & going out, personnal care needs, fund my medical equipment - I have to purchase myself, prescriptions... I could go on but I think that is enough to show it doesnt meet those needs yet alone pay for extra heating. £18:65 a week clearly isn't a huge amount. I'd also be working full time in a role a grade higher if it wasn't for disability.

For now I just get on with living but it would be helpful if really clear who qualifies for what. Lets be real we live in the real world and lifes not fair.

Indie_Kid · 13 January 2010 at 3:13PM

We're told that we have to use our DLA - why do we have to, yet once we reach 60 (or is it 65?) we don't have to do this? Or do we suddenly have more costs when we reach that age?

misty_blue_2 · 13 January 2010 at 3:18PM

sh1305 wrote: »

We're told that we have to use our DLA - why do we have to, yet once we reach 60 (or is it 65?) we don't have to do this? Or do we suddenly have more costs when we reach that age?

and pensioners have to use their pensions

Indie_Kid · 13 January 2010 at 3:18PM

misty_blue wrote: »

and pensioners have to use their pensions

No, they get the winter fuel allowance.

Winter fuel payment petition

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free