New benefits crackdown as disabled people may be offered vouchers instead of cash payments

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maryjaneholland

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Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is set to announce the new ‘green paper’ on Tuesday​

www.independent.co.uk

New benefits crackdown as disabled people may be offered vouchers instead of cash

Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is set to announce the new ‘green paper’ on Tuesday
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

Apologies click on "I'll Try Later" to get past the Independent sign-up wall, can't copy any more of article, basically even more disability-hating threats to disability benefits claimants really ramping up just before the local elections, hmm, curious timing, whilst removing the Independent Living Fund, and scrapping the "Back To Work" programme supporting people living with disabilities, and no new legislation improving the legal rights of disabled people since the Equality Act 2010 (14 years ago) where it's far from easy to enforce protected characteristics in the Courts?

Why does "levelling up" feel like "punching down" for those of us living with disabilities and diagnosed medical conditions unashamed to say "I have extra and additional support needs, I am signed off sick, and I claim disability benefits"? This feels like polite genocide of disabled people as punishment for none of the problems we caused related to Brexit, austerity, funding cuts, lockdown, post-lockdown, cost of living crisis - who will they blame when we are all dead? Fight back and do not accept this piffle nonsense from our glorious leaders!
 
I’ve just put my application to pip in today, thought I’d better get on and try before it changes
 
@Lucyr Good Luck for your PIP application, unfortunately there is huge backlog so be prepared to wait around 18 months for decision letter from DWP, hang in there!

I realise these are desperate times and the daily scaremongering about disabled people and trans people by educated able-bodied public figures who should know better creates real fear and anxiety for very vulnerable people and increases hate crime attacks against all disabled people in public (still not crime on it's own unlike racist hate crime, no idea why!), so please reach out to disability charities like Scope and Mind and others if you need help advice support or signposting...

www.scope.org.uk

Our response to the Government’s proposed welfare reforms. | Disability charity Scope UK

Today, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a consultation on reforming the welfare system.
www.scope.org.uk www.scope.org.uk

Scope Helpline - 0808 800 3333

Mind Helpline - 0300 123 3393
 
I went shopping at the weekend and a security man who didn't know that I walk around the shop told me that I would have to walk rather than take my mobility scooter inside, as the end of month rush was on and the store was crowded. It really was. I just bought a couple of things and left.
I don't remember it being like that - we have lived here over 40 years now - but people are obviously being affected by a lack of money/too much month to such an extent it must be showing up in the figures seen by mates of government ministers.
I think we can look forward to various ploys to try to reduce the amounts paid out and the numbers eligible for 'handouts'.
I was asked what benefits I received as part of a security check, and I said none - after some prompting I realised they meant my pension - at which I very pointedly pointed out that a pension is not a benefit but paid to me according to the payment of National Insurance whilst I was working.
 
@Drummer sorry to hear you have been prevented from using your mobility scooter inside supermarket, if I have understood what you stated correctly this represents disability discrimination and supermarkets are not exempt from Disability Discrimination Act or Equality Act where reasonable adjustment requests must be considered and allowances made for disabled customer to access the supermarket, have you considered making complaint to the supermarket customer services to ensure this doesn't happen again? It's entirely up to you, but the scapegoating of minorities is nothing new, and Scope representatives rightly pointed out on news today that PIP is disability benefit for people in work, studying, caring, and is in completely separate category to say means-tested Universal Credit, which shows the government bods don't even understand the complexities of disability benefits themselves ha!

I know less about Pensions, but I know my Mum who is over 75 gets very frustrated about thresholds for top-up benefits like Pension Credit, and lack of support for people in retirement who have worked or studied or been carers or volunteers their entire adult lives, such as Pensioners who choose to emigrate overseas in their retirement have their state pensions frozen as punishment for becoming ex-pats, or scrapping of free TV licence for over 75's, I don't have all the answers but knowledge is power when it comes to dealing with over-zealous security guards, just ask politely to see the Manager and make your reasonable adjustment request, record video on your mobile phone, very simple but effective for the most vulnerable people! 😉
 
maryjaneholland said:
@Drummer sorry to hear you have been prevented from using your mobility scooter inside supermarket, if I have understood what you stated correctly this represents disability discrimination and supermarkets are not exempt from Disability Discrimination Act or Equality Act where reasonable adjustment requests must be considered and allowances made for disabled customer to access the supermarket, have you considered making complaint to the supermarket customer services to ensure this doesn't happen again? It's entirely up to you, but the scapegoating of minorities is nothing new, and Scope representatives rightly pointed out on news today that PIP is disability benefit for people in work, studying, caring, and is in completely separate category to say means-tested Universal Credit, which shows the government bods don't even understand the complexities of disability benefits themselves ha!

I know less about Pensions, but I know my Mum who is over 75 gets very frustrated about thresholds for top-up benefits like Pension Credit, and lack of support for people in retirement who have worked or studied or been carers or volunteers their entire adult lives, such as Pensioners who choose to emigrate overseas in their retirement have their state pensions frozen as punishment for becoming ex-pats, or scrapping of free TV licence for over 75's, I don't have all the answers but knowledge is power when it comes to dealing with over-zealous security guards, just ask politely to see the Manager and make your reasonable adjustment request, record video on your mobile phone, very simple but effective for the most vulnerable people! 😉
Click to expand...
I didn't want or need to use the mobility scooter inside the store - it was simply that the security guy had not seen me before. I can walk around the shop no problem, but my knee was damaged when I dropped a 350cc motorbike on it, a long time ago now, but it gives way under stress so the scooter makes all the difference to shopping trips.
The inside of the shop was like Christmas Eve with the number of people in there - but they were buying rather cautiously, no luxury items.
I read recently of someone penalised for ticking a wrong box in a benefit claim which made 30pence a week difference to the money - but as it was considered fraud the entire amount of benefit was removed, all the money had to be repaid, the man had to sell his house and was suicidal, he was homeless and at deaths door, and although they broke him, he became entitled to benefits and would be receiving them for the rest of his life. He was a carer so goodness only knows what happened to the person he was looking after.
No wonder there is so much money wasted in persecuting errors - or even totally innocent people - in crazy vendettas
 
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maryjaneholland said:

Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is set to announce the new ‘green paper’ on Tuesday​

www.independent.co.uk

New benefits crackdown as disabled people may be offered vouchers instead of cash

Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is set to announce the new ‘green paper’ on Tuesday
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

Apologies click on "I'll Try Later" to get past the Independent sign-up wall, can't copy any more of article, basically even more disability-hating threats to disability benefits claimants really ramping up just before the local elections, hmm, curious timing, whilst removing the Independent Living Fund, and scrapping the "Back To Work" programme supporting people living with disabilities, and no new legislation improving the legal rights of disabled people since the Equality Act 2010 (14 years ago) where it's far from easy to enforce protected characteristics in the Courts?

Why does "levelling up" feel like "punching down" for those of us living with disabilities and diagnosed medical conditions unashamed to say "I have extra and additional support needs, I am signed off sick, and I claim disability benefits"? This feels like polite genocide of disabled people as punishment for none of the problems we caused related to Brexit, austerity, funding cuts, lockdown, post-lockdown, cost of living crisis - who will they blame when we are all dead? Fight back and do not accept this piffle nonsense from our glorious leaders!
Click to expand...
I think you can register and login to https://www.independent.co.uk/login?regSourceMethod=login overlay (works for me I didnot pay anything).
 
I think this thread highlights all the assumptions made by thinktanks and government bods, that publicly shaming entire minority groups is socially acceptable and with enough misinformation, can turn the wheels of the "culture wars" whilst relying heavily on internalised shame and complex struggles experienced by people living with disabilities, people who happen to be trans, people who are foreign nationals in the UK for any reason (except non-dom billionaires, enchante ma cherie, yuck!), who is there in the mainstream media slinging the mud back and defending misunderstood section of society whilst claiming those lived experiences themselves?

I don't have any perfect solutions, but I am still alive and breathing and with roof over my head thanks to researching my legal rights, advocating for my self, not accepting all the "no we can't help you as you don't meet thresholds or criteria blah" piffle waffle nonsense from the broken underfunded advice agencies and so-called third sector organisations, so if you are able to, post those critical newspaper articles online, call out the hatred bigotry and ignorance publicly, sign those petitions, sign-up to mailing lists from organisations like Disabled People Against Cuts, because silence equals death, and not sharing your voice equals complicity, but everyone has different energy levels, and all it takes is one person to point out quite rightly today that no sick note or "fit note" is required to claim PIP just medical evidence about how your medical conditions affect your daily living to undermine the unelected government bods with their agendas nobody voted for anyway with no democratic mandate...😉

Home - DPAC

Find out about joining DPAC
dpac.uk.net dpac.uk.net
 
Too sick to sleep, so in advance of the well-rehearsed mental health misinformation being dropped on us by "our democratically elected government" on Tuesday like Mount Vesuvius raining down molten turds on the great unwashed dirty filthy mentally ill masses, here's new statement from Mind the mental health charity, personally making enemies of mentally unhinged people as public figure is great move, what could possibly go wrong ha ha ha bonk?!


Public Enemy Number 1! Must dig out my old badge making machine and look up screen printing in my area, it takes lifetime of disenfranchisement to create truly insane villains! *Grins* :D
 

Disability claims can’t be made on ‘unverifiable assertions’, argues Sunak in benefits crackdown​

www.independent.co.uk

Disability benefit claims can’t be made on ‘unverifiable assertions’, argues Sunak

Critics argue that the PM is using mental health as a political culture war ahead of local elections this week
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

She knows better than your GP, your consultants, your specialists, your support workers, your carers, she knows all, umm-hmm! 😉
 
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