Fury over Darlington council’s 400% rise in cost of day care (From The Northern Echo)

 

THE husband of an elderly Alzheimer’s sufferer has accused a council of acting like “cowboy builders” after the cost of his wife’s day care went up by 400 per cent.

Last night, the Alzheimer’s Society said the case of 76- year-old Evelyn Wiffen, from Darlington, illustrated the urgent need to overhaul the way that social care is paid for.

When Mrs Wiffen started going to the St Hilda’s Day Centre, in Darlington, in August last year the charge was £10 per session.

In April this year, the fee increased to £28.80, and recently Darlington Borough Council told her husband, Peter, also 76, that the cost of a daily session was about to go up to £50.78.

Fury over Darlington council’s 400% rise in cost of day care (From The Northern Echo)

The Press Association: Charities slam legal aid changes

 

The Government’s cuts to the legal aid budget for disabled people appealing against benefits decisions could end up costing more in the long-term, a group of 24 national charities has warned.

The charities, including Mind, Scope, the RNIB, Mencap, and Leonard Cheshire Disability, believe the Government’s cuts to legal aid for those appealing against benefits decisions, will see around 80,000 people – the majority of them disabled – left with nowhere to turn for help if they fall through the net of welfare support.

Their campaign comes as MPs debate the Government’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill in the Commons this week.

The Press Association: Charities slam legal aid changes

Without PIP entitlement, the affected person’s carer can’t qualify for carer’s allowance

The second reading of the Welfare Reform Bill resulted in a heated debate that highlighted real concerns for thousands of disabled people throughout the country.

If radical change to the Government’s proposals to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with Personal Independence Payments (PIP) isn’t agreed, the independence and quality of life for of thousands could be drastically affected.

The current proposals concerning eligibility criteria for this important benefit suggest altering the qualifying period from three months to six months.

The Government’s stated aim continues to be to save £1.45 billion in the Disability Benefits budget by 2014/15

read in full here

Question to Iain Duncan Smith – Question Time Oct 27th

The following was submitted to BBC Questiontime for tonights programme.

Question for Iain Duncan Smith.

The Secretary of State is leading the biggest shake up of welfare reform in over 60 yrs. Yet there is a group of people he has overlooked and that is family carers. Their Carers Allowance remains at £55.55 per week and one of the conditions is they provide care for a MINIMUM of 35 hours.

Can Iain Duncan Smith give details tonight of, not if he will increase the carers allowance, but WHEN.

In the report Breakthrough Britain,of which IDS played a major part it states - 

“”Family carers are undervalued in our society and receive a disproportionately low level of financial support given the many hours of work that they do“”

We cannot and must not allow this opportunity to fully reform Carers Allowance to pass us by.

Carers are used to words of praise but it is NOT enough. No matter how much understanding the Coalition say it has, no matter how many times they say Thank you, it is NOT enough.

Carers need action and they need it now

Topical questions – Works and Pensions

Please see this link for answers to questions relating to -

Housing

Atos

Mobility Allowance

Employment support allowance……and more

Please note the following

The independent review chaired by Lord Low has been examining some of the same issues, and it is sensible to reflect on the outcome of his important work in advance of our final decision. Lord Low is due to report on 3 November and I will announce our final decisions shortly after.

Leading disabled people’s charities vote to form ‘Disability Rights UK’

 

Disability Alliance, the National Centre for Independent Living and Radar have agreed to unify to form ‘Disability Rights UK’.

After more than a year of negotiations and supporting recommendations from the current Boards of Trustees, the AGMs of the three existing charities have now formally agreed the process to unify on 1 January 2012.

Liz Sayce, Chief Executive Designate of the new Disability Rights UK, says:

“It is fantastic that the members of the three organisations have voted overwhelmingly in favour of coming together to create the largest pan-disability national organisation led by disabled people, which will enable many more disabled people to have a voice.”

The current charities have over 600 member organisations across the UK as well as over 500 individual disabled people as members. Disability Rights UK will be well placed to represent the views of all disabled people across a range of different impairment groups and health conditions.

Leading disabled people’s charities vote to form ‘Disability Rights UK’

Sandwich carers numbers are increasing

John and Beth both care for their mothers and their son Nathan, 17. The couple represents what’s commonly known as ‘sandwich carers’ — people who care for a younger- and older-generation relative. Follow a day in Beth’s life to find out how she copes and where she finds support.

Watch video here 

A practical guide to caring

 

Hardest Hit Rally – Edinburgh

CarerWatch member Pat Onions attended the Hardest Hit rally in Edinburgh. Here is her thoughts.

The rally, in the beautiful Princes Street gardens of Edinburgh, was the largest ever staged in Scotland with over 1,000 of us. Many disabled people and their carers couldn’t make it to the capital but I know you were with us in spirit.

The organisers held it in the band stand which has a stage and tiered seating AND chairs! AND vital for me…. loos!

David and I found access somewhat difficult. It seemed a choice of 39 steps or parachuting from a cliff top. David, who had insisted he would walk with his trundler, chose the cliff. Slowly and painfully we made it. Yes of course there was disabled access but buggered if we could find it!

The march itself had to be cancelled. The authorities could not guarantee  access for everyone along the proposed route. This had a lot to do with the fact that the controversial trams are now on the build again.

No matter I don’t think we could have negotiated the North face of the Eiger again!

Pam Duncan, of Inclusion Scotland, was the chair and damned good she was too. I don’t know if a chair is supposed to say quite as much but she wasn’t for stopping! I loved her.

Lord (Colin) Low was our first speaker and he, like the other speakers, didn’t really need the microphone. Such was their knowledge & passion in their words.

The young lad Jay Wakefield, from student disabilities, had a little trouble with the high winds & his kilt. This was a bonus especially for the ladies!

All the speakers talked on a different aspect of the proposed welfare reforms but the same message from them all. We ARE the Hardest Hit and we will NOT take it. I almost felt sorry for the Labour MSP who was heckled. I am sure he didn’t start the welfare reform ball in motion personally but our heckler felt he did. Brave MSP to come along.  Strangely noticeable by there absence was the Tories & LibDems. Now that would have been brave or very stupid.

If the British Gov thought disabled people would be an easy target they couldn’t have been more wrong. We have all had to develop our own survival skills which has made us stronger. Camerout & his millionaire buddies seem to have overlooked this.

It was an excellent rally in the late autumn sunshine. Frighteningly there was nothing said I didn’t already know but we left with as much determination to carry on campaigning as we’d had on arrival.

Those of us there came from all walks of life with all sorts of disability. Carers, children & families. They all came. Came with their own struggles to share.

I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my adopted compatriots. If Mr Salmond ever wants a vote on ‘Devolution from Westminster;….he will have mine.

A sort of PS.

David proudly wore his service medals. While walking back along Princes Street a young man, in his 30′s, came up to us. Is that a medal from the Royal Navy he asked. My Dad served with them and it looks the same. David told him what the medals were for. The young man wanted to know how long David had served. A brief history of how long & why he was medically discharged followed.

The young man, who called David Sir, asked if he could shake his hand? It was very moving and done out of pure respect for David and what he had stood for. This young man told us he was waiting for an operation for cataracts which he was unlikely to get due to the NHS cuts. He said it was nothing compared with what David had lived through and was still living through. A few more words as to why David was walking through the middle of the Capital with his medals. This young man made me even more determined to fight on. It was a extraordinary brief encounter from a total stranger.

A lesson there for all those who think they can dismiss any disabled person as unimportant.

David was very quiet on the way home.

CarerWatch attends Hardest Hit Protest in Newcastle

Report will follow but here are some photos for now

Briefing on DWP figures

21 October

This briefing anticipates the forthcoming DWP quarterly statistical bulletin about the Work Capability Assessment and casts a sceptical eye on what it will say. It routinely misrepresents the numbers found fit for work, fanning the flames of misinformed media vilification of people who are sick or disabled and unable to work.   

For text see here

Steve Griffiths
Research and Consultancy
in Social and Health Policy