This has been getting my goat for some time and I'm trying to detach myself from my wife's situation, hopefully by the time the cuts kick in Cate will be in less need of the benefits, but it's because of the situation that my awareness of the issues is higher and how it will affect many people whom are unable to protest the changes for themselves.
Disability living allowance is a UK benefit in two parts, care and mobility, each has different levels high, medium and low dependant on needs. Care is to support those who need help from making meals to needing watching at night for risk of fits, mobility is for those unable to get about on their own and in need of specialist wheelchairs (not the standard things the NHS may provide) or help towards purchase/hire of vehicle to get the person out and about.
It is a non-means tested, non-taxed benefit with the purpose of trying to make the disabled persons quality of live closer to that of a non disabled person, statistics suggest that it has a very low rate of fraud.
It is however being scrapped in the governments cost cutting measures, originally no replacement was announced but now the replacement is called 'personal independence payment' (PIP) and is believed to far more restrictive to those able to claim (DLA isn't an easy benefit to be rewarded), lower in value (20% cut) and will remove the mobility component from people who live full-time in care homes whose local authorities fund their places. Which equates to around 80,000 disabled people without the funds to get out of said homes and stuck in four walls, relying on charities to pay for any trips / specialist equipment or simply going without.
There are around 3 million claimants in the UK, around 1.8 of working age, around 800,000 disabled children and this of course will have a big effect on the claimants families, people aged over 65 are rightly or wrongly unable to claim the benefit currently despite the age of retirement being changed.
The reason for writing this note is to help awareness of the situation, not to tell people to do anything but let them make up their own minds, there are roughly 2 million university students in the UK and they have been able to make their voices heard but the group being hit by these cuts struggle to protest and be heard in such a public way. I, as most people, had no concept of what a daily struggle that disability added to peoples and families lives and didn't give it a second thought until it impacted mine and my wife's life. Now when a person 'tuts at us for being in their way', 'uses a disabled parking space incorrectly', 'suggests that disabled people sponge from society' I tend to think 'there for the grace of god go you'. They should try living the restricted existence for a few days let alone many years and it only take a simple accident on the road to find yourself in the same position.
So thanks for reading my ramblings and if you want to help then just help spread awareness of the government cuts in any way you choose including sharing this note, as most people I have inform about the cut have been oblivious, on top of this here are some links to campaigns to address the issue, unfortunately I haven't found any joint campaign across the charities/groups.
Men-cap campaign against removing the mobility benefits for those in care home...
Contact a family - campaign to help those with disabled children...
http://www.cafamily.org.uk/index.php?action=view&id=550&module=newsmodule&src=%40random4864ff40710ee
Another campaign to help those in care homes...
Broken Britian FB group...
and there 'One Month before Heartbreak' campiagn...
Report on Mobility...
And some of Guardian articles on the subject...
If any of the facts I have quoted are incorrect or anyone finds more campaigns / articles then please inform me, cheers.
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