Actions members here can take - Carers UK

[AspieMum]

Families' fears over disability benefit reform


Write to your MP to give them your views on the reform - find their details here

Carers UK has expressed deep concerns that the Government’s proposed reductions to the Disability Living Allowance budget could have a ‘devastating impact’ on family incomes.

In the Emergency Budget in June, the Chancellor set out plans to reduce the budget for Disability Living Allowance by 20%, around £1 billion. Carer’s Allowance, the main benefit for people who care unpaid for ill or disabled loved-ones, can only be claimed if someone is caring for a friend or relative who is in receipt of the middle or higher rate ‘care component’ of Disability Living Allowance, or Attendance Allowance. The £1 billion reduction is expected to come from existing claimants having their benefit reduced or removed following a new medical test for all existing and new claimants of Disability Living Allowance by 2013/14.

Read in full here

Mine done.... Labour MP.....lets see what replies we get.

Unfortunately I have a new Conservative MP so likely to tow the party line (our old Lib Dem one, Sandra Gidley, was willing to vote in favour of he constituents even if it was againgst the party line on occasion and I voted for her not this new lady). Still we can but try but I doubt my attempts will get anywhere especially as having Aspergers Syndrome I haven't got the ability to communicate persuasively and at times word things all wrong and annoy people without realising it.

[AspieMum]

Does that include pension age Carers like me and JohnRJ Rosemary. We cant claim anything as Carers, even though we both Care 24/7.
I guess a letter from us might help the younger Carers to keep getting DLA and CA mind.

The caring doesn't stop even if they try an force us out to work by removing benefits or if we are allowed to not work because we are retired but don't get any financial help. We can't strike in protest and going on a parade through London to protest is not always an option when you've got to bring the disabled person with you or they are at school and you're not close enough to London. I guess that makes us an easy terget for the government (who are only interested in people getting paid work and what money they can slash from budgets not the citizens' welfare it seems) .

You can't even choose to put the person in a home if they are a child- you give up being their parent and let the Satate bring them up by putting them in care or you struggle on regardless. Putting them in care would be a disaster for everyone as the care system can't cope with special needs kids and is not much good for so called 'normal' kids either mostly and there's all the difficulties of losing a much loved parent and being split up from siblings (even if not immediately with special needs kids it is inevitable and often happens to normal kids from what I've heard) and it puts you through the emotional wringer as well. However, if you can't provide for the child's needs they probably get put in care anyway and you'll be charged with neglect.

If the person is an elderly person you might be left paying for some of their care and you've got the difficulties of will they cope with the move, finding a good home and trying to avoid the bad ones (and how do you tell which is which cause even the bad ones can put on a good show- for example for the inspectors as they know when they are going to be inspected).

[kenneth2dundee]

I have made phonecalls made written emails and went to one surgery and was not impressed.

He is a mature aged man who l am told has no inlfuence or power in government and has to tow the party line.

WRITE TO THEM l feel i s a waste of time you do not get truthful replies back as the minister does not even see the letter form the mp it is written a whitehall mannie tired and frustrated himself with nothing else better to do.

are mps or any of them who supposed to govern us good value or best value for money

as we say in afrikaans nee they are not with the salary and expences. I am just tired of all this heartache and suffering our carees go though and what we have to battle day in day out.

dont know what rosemary george and all the other postes feel but it is just getting worse and beyond a joke.
kenneth2 noe fifre.

[Scally]

In 1946 when the NHS was founded the perinatal mortality rate in Britain was around 45 per thousand, it is now less than four per thousand. 40 in a class wasnt unusual, and almost nobody had a car or central heating. And in those days we had no disability benefits, and carers hadnt even been invented. Most of us now live to a ripe old age, whilst back then people might expect to reach 70 if they were very lucky. So , if you think things are so bad now; which decade would you choose to live in?

[MaryB]

In 1946 when the NHS was founded the perinatal mortality rate in Britain was around 45 per thousand, it is now less than four per thousand. 40 in a class wasnt unusual, and almost nobody had a car or central heating. And in those days we had no disability benefits, and carers hadnt even been invented. Most of us now live to a ripe old age, whilst back then people might expect to reach 70 if they were very lucky. So , if you think things are so bad now; which decade would you choose to live in?

And we had real Hovis for Tea!
Thing is those people had it better than the cavemen did so they were doing well comparitively also, it doesn't change the fact that in a modern civilised society the vulnerable should not be left worrying.
Vicky

[Scally]

I think we now live in a neurotic society, where mainly due to mass media scare stories, nearly everyone worries nearly all the time. Its a sign of the times, thats all.

[rabidrabbit]

Did you know that scientists have located the worry centre in the brain? This has proved that anxiety isn't learned as prevoiusly thought and we are supposed to worry - it's an inbuilt defence and survival mechanism . So we are not that different from the cavemen- they just had different things to worry about. Those media stories are just big paw prints near the cave.

[Scally]

No I didn't, how fascinating!

I do know that taking action reduces stress: its good to feel more in charge of your situation and feel that you can control it a little. Whilst working with other carers organising the Scottish carers poverty protest march in 2009, I set up a carers rights page on wikipedia - here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carers_rights_movement

This page gets typically several hundred views a month - nearly 700 in October alone. http://stats.grok.se/en/201010/Carers_rights_movement

So its been a great way to spread the message about the protest to a wider audience, and link with other carers movements across the world too. And lots of other carers have added their own information, making it a definitive resource for anyone interested in the topic that will continue to grow.

I think that the moral of this is probably that, whilst negative thoughts are inevitable, the way to beat the carers blues to is to get active and do something positive to improve matters and raise awareness; at local, national, or international level: whether out in the streets, at a local meeting, or even online.

[kenneth2dundee]

WHAT ARE THE HELL WE ARE ALL GOING TO DO.

I asked my mp pa the other day that is ming campbell secretary what about the cuts and reuctions in benefit how are we supposed to fund this out of what money.

I said how he said he did not know neither would ming campbell mp what is the point of going to my mp when l never get a credible reply to anything l ask. Just lipservice and drivvlle/

I said to his pa well l have a huge attac in my rented house maybe l will convert it into a cannabis factory then will have some reliable money comming in to pay bills incl tv licence who keep threating me with a court case due to late payments actually skint by the way.

But also them trying to cut dla for ill and disabled people and carers unapid they are just bonkers and as l said before dont give a toss about us.

NO GOOD WRITNG TO MY MP HE HAS NO CLOUT OR ANY POWER IN THE HOUSE SO THE PA TELLS ME.

KENNETH2NOWFIFE

[Scally]

I may be a carer, but I'm not a loser, Kenneth.