Will you be hit by welfare cuts? Want to tell your story?

My name’s Frances Ryan and I’m journalist covering cuts to disability support. I’ve recently worked with DPAC for stories/interviews about DLA and ESA, and the bedroom tax.

 

 

To fit in with new research on the cumulative impact of April’s cuts, I’m currently looking for disabled people who are set to lose multiple benefits – and would be happy to share their story (anonymously if needed) for a possible article.

 

Will you be hit by the six major cuts?

 

They could be:

 

Contributory Employment Support Allowance

 

If you’re currently on low rate Disability Living Allowance – or perhaps are on a higher rate but have reason to believe you will not be elibible under PIP

 

Bedroom tax

 

Council tax benefit reduction/loss

 

Any other benefit cut/loss coming in this April.

 

If you are going to be affected by simultaneous cuts and are happy to speak to me please email frances.ryan18@btinternet.com (rather than leaving a message here as I wouldn’t want to miss your message).

 

Thank you very much.

Disabled people to lose £28.3 billion of support by 2018

 

• Thousands of disabled people will be hit simultaneously by up to six different welfare cuts
• Disabled people will lose £28.3 billion of support by 2018
• Up to 3.7 million disabled people affected in total
• Demos calls on the Government to publish the cumulative impact of multiple cuts to benefits
• Scope asks where disabled people fit in to Chancellor’s ‘aspiration nation’

 

for full details and the report, please see here

Shameless onslaught on carers

 

 

CarerWatch members are outraged having learned of the latest details in a briefing paper recently released by DWP, Personal Independence Payment and Carer’s Allowance, that will affect many carers. Details as confirmed by Esther McVey, Minister for Disabled People –

“Latest estimates project there will be a net reduction of 9,000 recipients of CA (where benefit is in payment) by the end of 2018 as a consequence of reassessment for PIP”

As the above will be the result of a person needing care having lost their Disability Living Allowance, the impact on family’s incomes will be immense. This double blow will especially hit hard those families on the poverty line.

Add to this the introduction of bedroom tax, cuts to local services; we feel this shameless onslaught from the government has shown a total disregard for the services provided by carers. Services estimated to be £119billion per annum

Our society would not function without the care currently provided by unpaid carers and the consistent refusal by Governments to improve Carers lives has ripple effects throughout Social Services and the NHS. Precious few people receive the actual support they need and so many carers are just not receiving vital services and support.

These cuts contradict findings in the Breakthrough Britain report, undertaken by The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which was established as an independent think-tank by the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, now the present Secretary of State for Works and Pensions.

It said –

“The low level of Carer’s Allowance discourages people from providing care to family members. It is one of the lowest forms of benefit available but it there is a high level of expectation in terms of work, in return”

Removing Carers Allowance from 9000 (projected no.) people will result in less families being able to provide care.

Therefore, we call on Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Works and Pensions, to look past his fantasy and wishful thinking for these welfare reforms, and look at the reality of what these cuts and reforms are actually doing to many people with disabilities/ill health and their carers.

 

Scottish Welfare Reform Committee meeting Tues 5th Feb 2013

 

WELFARE REFORM COMMITTEE

AGENDA can be found here, along with names of witnesses

3rd Meeting, 2013 (Session 4)

Tuesday 5 February 2013

The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 3.

More about the committee here

Clerk: Simon Watkins

E-mail:

WelfareReformCommittee@scottish.parliament.uk

You can watch live here from 10 am

 

 

 

 

 

Disabled people will be impoverished as they face a “Tsunami” of benefit cuts – says Inclusion Scotland

Disabled people in Scotland face the impact of several simultaneous cuts to their benefits, say disability campaigners at Inclusion Scotland. They describe the affect as being akin to a virtual Tsunami which will devastate disabled people’s living standards causing hardship and homelessness. They say that the Department for Work & Pensions has refused to carry out a cumulative impact assessment of the effect of welfare cuts on disabled people forcing Inclusion Scotland to do their job for them.

Labour MP Ian Mearns has called for a debate in Westminster Hall which will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, 18^th December, on the effects of welfare reform on disabled people, their carers and families. This debate follows over a year’s campaigning by disabled people and carers who have worked hard to promote blind activist and carer Pat Onions’ petition asking the government to stop and review the cuts to disabled people’s benefits & services. In spite of restricted media coverage, “Pat’s Petition” collected over 62,600 signatures.

IS have analysed the changes using the DWP’s statistics and have calculated that the combined effect of the cuts planned under the guise of welfare “reform” will have a devastating impact on disabled people (who are more likely to rely benefits for some or all of their income than non-disabled people).

For example:

Live debate – Effects of welfare reform on disabled people

Westminster Hall
Meeting starts on Tuesday 18 December  at 2.30pm

Private Members’ Debate:
Effects of welfare reform on disabled people, their carers and families – Ian Mearns

Once started you can watch live here

****************

The program of welfare reform and cuts is proceeding with alarming momentum and the needs of carers  and  disabled people are being lost in the fiscal crisis. 

CarerWatch urge those participating in this debate to please look past the fantasy and wishful thinking – to the reality of what these cuts and reforms are actually doing to many individuals/families.

*****************

My name is Lynn and I would like to share my son’s illness with you

Guest post by Lynn

My name is Lynn, I’m 60 years old and I’d like to share my son’s illness with you all to try and help you understand the predicament thousands of others like my son are faced with next year, regarding DWP Benefit Reform for the sick and disabled.

My youngest son aged 40 has suffered from Paranoid Schizophrenia and emotional instability Personality Disorder since the age of 18. I have lived the illness with my son, the highs, the lows, and numerous hospital admissions over the years. My son had another very bad psychotic breakdown in August 2010, which resulted in a section 3 of the Mental Health Act and he has been in hospital care for 2 years this time.

Although my son is nearly 40 years old, mentally he is only 15, he is immature and extremely vulnerable and easily exploited. Therefore needs much support and care when living in the community. My son, like thousands like him, who suffer from a Severe and Enduring mental health problem, has no voice when it comes to the DWP or ATOS, he like others wouldn’t be able cope with being interviewed next year 2013 when the Disability Living Allowance changes to Personal Independence Payment and he has to be assessed by DWP.  He, again like many others, who suffer severe mental illness, doesn’t believe he is ill, and just wants to be left alone.

DLA/PIP Help Group’s Response to – DLA reform and Personal Independence Payment

received from DLA Help Group

Please  find attached our group response to the above consultation.
Submitted  10:20 25/06/2012

read here   DLA Help group submission

 

 

Emergency meeting – Organising Against the Welfare Reform Bill

 

Received from Winvisible

 

Emergency Meeting:

Organising Against

the Welfare Reform Bill

 

Monday 20 Feb  5pm-6.30pm

Tent City University,

Occupy London,

St Paul’s

London EC4M 8AD 

All welcome

 

Buses 4, 11, 15, 23, 25, 26, 100, 242

Tube: St Paul’s, Central Line

Overground: City Thameslink

 

This is outdoors, so dress warm. 

Hot drinks available and accessible loos nearby.

 

For more info: Global Women’s Strike gws@globalwomenstrike.net

020 7482 2496, 07904 255 145

 

Also please sign Pats Petition here, then become an organiser. Share the link to gather as many more names as you can and in turn ask them to do the same.

Do you send out/receive e newsletters? If so please ensure the petition details are included.

 

 

Vigil & Lobby of Parliament re Welfare reform 1-3pm Tues 14 Feb

Vigil & Lobby of Parliament

As the Welfare Reform Bill returns to the House of Lords.

1-3pm Tues 14 Feb

Old Palace Yard, Abingdon St,   SW1 0AA.

If the Bill ping-pongs back to the Commons on Wed 15 Feb we will also be there from 1-3pm.

Single Mothers’ Self-Defence smsd@allwomencount.net 
WinVisible win@winvisible.org 
Tel: 020 7482 2496

For more information, online and phone lobbying see here

 

Also please sign this e petition   and share with others to gather as much support as possible.  Ask them to do the same.

.