tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post9085079875436992445..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: Disability Living Allowance: A Reader Writes...Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-64374364598726582072010-08-12T00:28:40.293+01:002010-08-12T00:28:40.293+01:00continued from previous comment
families over som...continued from previous comment<br /><br />families over somewhat trivial sums of money. Would Paul wish to see those who may already feel themselves to be a burden on the state, also lose the friendship that comes freely when there is no finger pulling at purse strings. <br /><br />I am a disabled person, suffering extreme mental tensions and constant mood swings, but am physically capable of many things. However, my life is now a mess and I have driven much of my family away by my own reactions to everyday events. I no longer see most of my friends due to my anger episodes. My Wife can see me as the love of her life or pure evil all in the same day. I am not functioning normally and it doesn't matter how much money you could throw at me as I don't care about money, or housing, or material things or even eating and washing myself. Most of my life has a black shroud over it. At some point I hope to come out from under this shroud and bring life long friends and family back towards me but at this moment its doubtful. <br /><br />The money I get from the state keeps a roof over my head and food in my mouth but its not my needs that I care about. My Wife and Son have lived with my behaviour and believe me I disgust myself. She should leave me but she loves me and she knows I'd be dead within weeks without her. So money from the state keeps my Wife and child provided for because quite simply I cannot. I have a degree I can never call upon again in any job hunt as my medical conditions would be too extreme to be overlooked by any normal employer. <br /><br />If I could have my old self back it would be worth all the money on Earth to me. My life is a broken thing with nothing to look forward to than the coming months and years of depression and exclusion. I am trying to rebuild my life and my friendships. Luckily apart from some borrowing from family I have not got to worry about money issues getting in the way of building those friendships again. My own hill is a mountain but I also know it is within my own, only my own, capability to change myself for the better. I do believe my friends were good friends until I forced them away. <br /><br />Ultimately, to the state I am most thankful. But the state is a system that most of us have paid into and when in dire need should hopefully be able to call upon. No doubt most disabled would prefer to be well enough to work and enjoy their lives to the full. You can only do this with friendships and families that are still strong and not torn apart by money issues. I can loosely understand Paul's viewpoint and envy someone who can call upon favours at any level and who are not then constantly worrying about money and its impact on those relationships. Sadly, most cannot claim the same luck. <br /><br />I hope this has made some sense. I do not write much and sometimes have trouble keeping any sort of focus but I hope you can understand that borrowing money from those who care for you will eventually destroy what may be left of a precious relationship that should ultimately be more important than short term need for money.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00782207148646654898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-74485274577781645372010-08-12T00:27:36.023+01:002010-08-12T00:27:36.023+01:00continued from previous comment
families over som...continued from previous comment<br /><br />families over somewhat trivial sums of money. Would Paul wish to see those who may already feel themselves to be a burden on the state, also lose the friendship that comes freely when there is no finger pulling at purse strings. <br /><br />I am a disabled person, suffering extreme mental tensions and constant mood swings, but am physically capable of many things. However, my life is now a mess and I have driven much of my family away by my own reactions to everyday events. I no longer see most of my friends due to my anger episodes. My Wife can see me as the love of her life or pure evil all in the same day. I am not functioning normally and it doesn't matter how much money you could throw at me as I don't care about money, or housing, or material things or even eating and washing myself. Most of my life has a black shroud over it. At some point I hope to come out from under this shroud and bring life long friends and family back towards me but at this moment its doubtful. <br /><br />The money I get from the state keeps a roof over my head and food in my mouth but its not my needs that I care about. My Wife and Son have lived with my behaviour and believe me I disgust myself. She should leave me but she loves me and she knows I'd be dead within weeks without her. So money from the state keeps my Wife and child provided for because quite simply I cannot. I have a degree I can never call upon again in any job hunt as my medical conditions would be too extreme to be overlooked by any normal employer. <br /><br />If I could have my old self back it would be worth all the money on Earth to me. My life is a broken thing with nothing to look forward to than the coming months and years of depression and exclusion. I am trying to rebuild my life and my friendships. Luckily apart from some borrowing from family I have not got to worry about money issues getting in the way of building those friendships again. My own hill is a mountain but I also know it is within my own, only my own, capability to change myself for the better. I do believe my friends were good friends until I forced them away. <br /><br />Ultimately, to the state I am most thankful. But the state is a system that most of us have paid into and when in dire need should hopefully be able to call upon. No doubt most disabled would prefer to be well enough to work and enjoy their lives to the full. You can only do this with friendships and families that are still strong and not torn apart by money issues. I can loosely understand Paul's viewpoint and envy someone who can call upon favours at any level and who are not then constantly worrying about money and its impact on those relationships. Sadly, most cannot claim the same luck. <br /><br />I hope this has made some sense. I do not write much and sometimes have trouble keeping any sort of focus but I hope you can understand that borrowing money from those who care for you will eventually destroy what may be left of a precious relationship that should ultimately be more important than short term need for money.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00782207148646654898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-49259183107658150742010-08-11T21:02:53.790+01:002010-08-11T21:02:53.790+01:00Hi,
I haven't been on here before but I can&#...Hi,<br /><br />I haven't been on here before but I can't stop myself making comment regarding Paul Dean and his rather patronising view of how others should live their lives with regard to not scrounging off the state but instead to become a penny pinching snivler to anyone who is a friend or relative. <br /><br />Friendships can last for a lifetime, but can be broken so easily if one side of that friendship sees it as a gravy train. If those with very real disabilities were to ostracise themselves from their own social networks there would be a much greater burden for them to endure than simple monetary shortage. Depression and sheer desperation could be the result. Perhaps you can live without the state but with no friendship and companionship then whatever money you have is little compensation. <br /><br />I wonder if Paul would like to be seen as a scrounger, a snivler, a pest - to those he feels care about him. <br /><br />It must sound stupid to someone who has an ever abundant source of profitable family and friends to sponge off that those friends and family and requests for money should really be kept far apart. There are many programmes on tv that have shown the break up of <br /><br />continued on next commentUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00782207148646654898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-44278074923389754702010-07-07T11:10:04.227+01:002010-07-07T11:10:04.227+01:00longrun2,
Yes, sorry, I wasn't very clear. Th...longrun2,<br /><br />Yes, sorry, I wasn't very clear. The first part of my post was about ESA/ 'genuinely' disabled and the second part was about DLA.<br /><br />May I add a fact to this discussion - that DLA fraud runs at 0.5%. So what basis does Mr Osborne have for claiming that there is a lot of abuse?<br /><br />Like I said previously, he is just pre-baking an excuse to cut. It risks pulling disabled people out of work and preventing them from entering it. After all, you will find it harder to get work if your care needs are not met.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06323704027686670553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-81378252807006389412010-07-06T23:01:30.445+01:002010-07-06T23:01:30.445+01:00I hope you don't mind a second comment but if ...I hope you don't mind a second comment but if people could get there MP to sign EDM 393 I would be grateful.<br /><br />Details here http://benefits.tcell.org.uk/forums/what-can-i-do-about-my-dla-worries-edm-your-mp-sign-and-lobbying-parliament-7th-july-1030-you<br /><br />Thank you.<br /><br />John.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256416371278490418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-34532192209314518802010-07-06T22:23:17.402+01:002010-07-06T22:23:17.402+01:00Iain,
I think it is great that you highlight peop...Iain,<br /><br />I think it is great that you highlight people's cases in this way. You have always in the year I've read your blog shown an ability to relate to minority groups even in situations very different from your own. You have shown a willingness not just to write commentary, or observe politics, but take up causes.<br /><br />Never say never to becoming an MP.<br /><br />I can only vaguely remember some of the good reasons you quoted for deciding to discontinue your pursuit of a mandate. However, all that aside, do any of them reeeeaaaally mean you couldn't make representations on behalf of constituents? You can make a difference to people as an MP.<br /><br />I may well have diametrically opposite political views, may disagree with you on issues of any size, however I still think you should go for it. Take a look in the mirror, this is what an MP looks like.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-19000667752574488622010-07-06T21:21:12.228+01:002010-07-06T21:21:12.228+01:00@ Tim
DLA is not the same as Incapacity Benefit (o...@ Tim<br />DLA is not the same as Incapacity Benefit (or ESA or whatever the latest name for it is). DLA is paid to people, including children, whose disability results in additional costs for basic living whereas incapacity benefit is paid to those unable to work due to incapacity. Someone with MS who is unable to walk may (should) be entitled to DLA to help with the cost of an electric wheelchair but not IB if he/she is still able to (e.g.) teach. Regular has instanced some of the extra costs incurred.<br />English Pensioner has a point about the astronomical rise in the number of people on Incapacity Benefit (which hid the extent of the rise in unemployment under New Labour because those on IB were not included in the claimant count) but that is irrelevant to the discussion of DLA, as is (in consequence) your response. Part of the reply to that is that 50 years ago miners suffering from silicosis or other industrial injuries were given "light work" on the surface and most private sector employers tried to find or design, by reallocating tasks between jobs, a suitable job for an employee who became disabled (i.e. one that used their skills but excluded things that they could not do) - however that accounts for only a small fraction of the increase, as does discrimination which is illegal. A third cause is the NMW that has destroyed all jobs that were worth less than the NMW, a significant minority of which were previously occupied by disabled people who wanted to work at a low wage rather than feel "dependent". Fraud does exist (as the tabloids keep pointing out every time an instance is discovered), but the biggest single cause is that IB pays more than JSA so anyone who is partially disabled will choose IB if made redundant and anyone on IB who takes a short-term job will end up worse off as they are very likely to be put onto JSA instead of IB when it ends. <br />@ George - are you talking about DLA or IB/ESA? It looks to me as if you are referring to IB? Of course we want to stop IB fraud because it is unfair but the thread is about the stupid (New Labour) proposals to have inperts making judgements about the need for DLA for people who cannot even walk to the shops.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-3555485274427509252010-07-06T13:50:31.352+01:002010-07-06T13:50:31.352+01:00This thread is proof that all attempted reforms of...This thread is proof that all attempted reforms of the welfare system will fail, because the genuine cases will often be penalised, often because they are honest about what they can and can't do, whereas those that attempt to defraud the system will continue to be paid because they are prepared to lie repeatedly to achieve their aims. Thus the honest are penalised and the dishonest rewarded. <br /><br />Add in the PC bias in the system that means anyone working in it will be loath to accuse anyone from an ethnic minority of fraud, for fear of being accused of racism, but will be quite happy to cut the benefits of non ethnic minorities because they know no-one will cut up rough about it. No one gets accused of anything for cutting a single middle aged white man's benefits.<br /><br />Thus I predict you will end up with on one hand claimants such as have written in this thread being refused benefits, and Somalian refugees getting them, while obviously fraudulent.Sobershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11407417389022146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-57084416243475833482010-07-06T11:33:54.941+01:002010-07-06T11:33:54.941+01:00The letter shows that for for every reaction there...The letter shows that for for every reaction there is someone who will unduly suffer. A reflection that one size does not fit all. A reflection also that the medical profession to some extent has been complicit in fraud against the state.<br />Too many people have been given the easy option of being classed as disabled, that they have, has been as a result of GP's and other medicoes being prepared to sign documentation without too many questions.<br />It is laudable and highly impressive that your correspondent pursues a career path. Many others do not. It is this latter area that needs to be weeded. So whilst the new pathway is made, for some there will be problems, most unfortunate and I hope that that can be minimised.<br />I know a number of people who have been signed off with disablity/sick who do not deserve the payments, who have used the scheme for personal gain and that is clearly untair on genuine claimants. The sooner the former are weeded out the better it will be for the latter and your correspondent.Penfoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946700329323417719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-43847955376360629032010-07-06T09:47:46.701+01:002010-07-06T09:47:46.701+01:00I hate the phrase 'GENUINELY disabled.' Wh...I hate the phrase 'GENUINELY disabled.' What does it mean? It sounds as if the non-disabled speaker is trying to impose their own definition onto me i.e. 'if you can work, you are not disabled, if you can't, you are.<br /><br />It's not that simple - there are many GENUINELY disabled people who can work, but are kept out of the workplace by discrimination. A recent yougovstone survey found that three quarters of employers would not consider taking on somebody on Incapacity Benefit. That, in the present market, makes it near impossible for disabled people to find work. These people are supposed to be going into the grey 'work related activity' group of ESA, where they are supposed to get tailored help. But they are not because the government wants to save money by pretending to help us.<br /><br />Now onto DLA. The government's 'state of the nation' report was misleading, describing it as a 'low income' 'out of work' benefit. As we have seen here, it is neither of those things, so what's going on? I suspect that Mr Osborne is preparing the public with excuses to cut.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06323704027686670553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-72478903130561451332010-07-06T09:24:30.044+01:002010-07-06T09:24:30.044+01:00@Mary ("To take away the DLA from that equati...@Mary (<i>"To take away the DLA from that equation and require me to beg my family and friends every time I leave the house, changes my relationship with every single person in my social circle. I would no longer be an equal, but a burden. I would go out a lot less because I would be ashamed to have to keep asking."</i>)<br /><br />There is merit in what you say about dignity being linked to social mobility and the logical outcome is to give money to all without means testing, although its sustainability is questionable.<br /><br />However what I've quoted above is problematic to me. To receive financial support through general taxation instead of personal relationship merely covers the fact of being a burden with a mask of self-entitlement. The fact hasn't changed, but it's made easy to ignore. It's never a good idea to ignore reality in favour of a more palatable illusion and in this case a widespread sense of entitlement can be extremely damaging.<br /><br />I'm trying to plan things so I won't have to claim the state pension when I retire (if it still exists by that time) but if I do have to I imagine it will be difficult to marshal my thoughts to be grateful and humble rather than self-entitling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-37489778881426488312010-07-06T03:30:02.580+01:002010-07-06T03:30:02.580+01:00An interesting read. Thanks for posting. It seem...An interesting read. Thanks for posting. It seems someone like this correspondent should be helped more not less, given their marvelous approach given all the challenges. It is the parasites who take but make no attempt to give that will be the target of the clampdown - I hope.Gazza's UsefulTips and Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07847938388522035247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-90724671982591109082010-07-06T01:22:16.266+01:002010-07-06T01:22:16.266+01:00@ Mary - our families ought to support us but if t...@ Mary - our families ought to support us but if they are not able to or choose not to do so (and some do) then the state chooses to pick up the pieces. "The second is human dignity. At present, the powers-that-be state that I have a right to a quality of life that includes being able to work, yes, but also to go out and about, enjoy public amenities, and take part in everyday life. So if I want to go to the library or the pub or the park, I have a budget to do just that." My response is WTF: other people have no duty to fund your visits to the pub.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-57141739971228901842010-07-05T21:45:24.912+01:002010-07-05T21:45:24.912+01:00@Paul Dean
I understand what you are saying about...@Paul Dean<br /><br />I understand what you are saying about "why should a family member bother to provide when they are being taught that the state will cover it?", but I feel that there are two major issues there.<br /><br />The first is that, as others have pointed out, our families already tend to support us in so far as that is possible for them. But it's not always possible. For example, what if the writer of that email moved away from home to go to university or to further their career (and thus increase their earning and tax-paying potential)? Should the writer let personal and career development opportunities go by because their family and friends aren't prepared to give up their own jobs and support networks to move too? Would you prefer us to stay as low earners? Surely it is better for us to be able to live independently?<br /><br />The second is human dignity. At present, the powers-that-be state that I have a right to a quality of life that includes being able to work, yes, but also to go out and about, enjoy public amenities, and take part in everyday life. So if I want to go to the library or the pub or the park, I have a budget to do just that.<br /><br />To take away the DLA from that equation and require me to beg my family and friends every time I leave the house, changes my relationship with every single person in my social circle. I would no longer be an equal, but a burden. I would go out a lot less because I would be ashamed to have to <i>keep</i> asking.<br /><br />DLA is not a handout any more than a state education is a handout. Just like a state education helps ensure that academic opportunity is not the exclusive preserve of the affluent, DLA helps ensure that the opportunity to engage with everyday life is not the exclusive preserve of the non-disabled.<br /><br />After all, you can't expect us to go to work and yet deny us access to all the other bits of life.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11639094548415759560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-37607764022297653872010-07-05T20:32:37.928+01:002010-07-05T20:32:37.928+01:00@wordsmith for hire
If you don't want me to ...@wordsmith for hire<br /><br /><br />If you don't want me to be rude to you, don't be rude to me in the first place. If you read my original piece it is perfectly clear what was meant. In order to be rude to me you had to invent a whole paragraph I didn't write !Libertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219132362086878801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-29982256008735938932010-07-05T19:13:43.332+01:002010-07-05T19:13:43.332+01:00@ Onevoice: your eldest son has, deservedly, my ad...@ Onevoice: your eldest son has, deservedly, my admiration.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-30557817834445448652010-07-05T19:03:31.582+01:002010-07-05T19:03:31.582+01:00The Permanent Secretary at DWP should be sacked be...The Permanent Secretary at DWP should be sacked because his department is unfit for purpose: the interviews should be to establish whether the claimant needs the DLA and so should be carried out by an expert in the condition from which he/she is suffering (occasionally alleged to be suffering). <br />I fully agree with TGR's first paragraph but his last is off-beam. The Coalition government is looking at every means that they can think of to reduce the budget deficit and tackling benefit fraud is one way to save a little money and, at the same time, to calm down millions who think "it's not fair" when asked to make a small sacrifice because the tabloids have highlighted a handful of ridiculous cases of benefit fraud. The stupid system of inperts interviewing claimants was introduced by the previous New Labour government - Iain, please can you pass on everybody's distrust of this idiotic system?<br />@ Libertarian: When I was a child/young adult income tax was only levied on income in excess of your needs but only a minority paid income tax so it was possible to give each taxpayer an individual tax code - the extension of income tax to a majority of the adult population and the appallingly incompetent computerisation of HMRC (both thanks to GB) means that this is now impracticable: also it doesn't help families with no breadwinner - they are a regrettable number of marriages that have split up under the strain of caring for an autistic child, leaving one parent with a full-time unpaid job as a carer. DLA works quite well (although the two/three band set-up means that it only roughly reflects need).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-41733876472895127372010-07-05T18:45:48.961+01:002010-07-05T18:45:48.961+01:00People with disabilities should receive help. Its...People with disabilities should receive help. Its what the welfare state is all about. Its in all our interests as well.<br /><br />Is there any dispute about this?<br /><br />The welfare state has been hijacked and we need to get it back. For the sake of those who really need it.<br /><br />But lets be clear - its not just about people with disabilities. We all get old and we all will need looking after in our old age. I do not simply mean pensions; I mean physical care.<br /><br /> How many of us are making proper provision for this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-6377473546319594292010-07-05T18:32:49.039+01:002010-07-05T18:32:49.039+01:00I am in receipt of DLA, getting the lower care rat...I am in receipt of DLA, getting the lower care rate but the higher mobility. Given that I am an trans-femoral amputee, who also had to have a hip replacement in the so-called "good" leg due to crippling arthritis and although the hip replacement worked in that the pain went from crippling to mere bad. It will never be "right" because of the asymmetric loads that I put on my pelvis. I had to renew recently (and I haven't yet had the result - another point of anger: they are so f*cking slow. My application has been in for about 4 months)and, yes, they had to write to my consultant, who no doubt, will reply with a sarcastic letter along the lines of "his hip has repaired itself and his leg regenerated, much as I said last time". I am never, ever going to get better - much more probable is that I will become less and less mobile as I get older. The system,is broken - they could save vast quantities of money simply by looking at a person's history and then the need for the DLA is bleeding obvious.bonetiredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15756531817600612726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-7505211917669217952010-07-05T17:05:28.998+01:002010-07-05T17:05:28.998+01:00I receive DLA and suffer from a type of inflammato...I receive DLA and suffer from a type of inflammatory arthritis and secondary fibromylagia, amongst other things. One of the most common problems associated with arthritis is fatigue. Yet it does not appear to be common knowledge that this is in fact a huge problem for arthritis sufferers. This is not the same kind of fatigue you get from say working hard then it gets better with rest. It means you physically cannot do normal tasks, even something as simple as being able to stand in one place for a few minutes or sit at a computer as keeping your body in one place is very fatiguing. fatigue interferes massively with the quality of life of those with arthritis. It's unpredictable and you may not be too bad for a week then be really ill for a couple of days, then OK for 3 days then ill for months. You simply cannot tell. If you over do it you risk being ill for very long periods, if you under do it you risk losing mobility.<br />None of this can be measured in a test. I look normal, I appear mobile. I'm not.OrganisedPauperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07875446216000709242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-59307357641376817412010-07-05T16:38:54.093+01:002010-07-05T16:38:54.093+01:00Dear wordsmith for hire
Dear Libertarian, I made n...Dear wordsmith for hire<br />Dear Libertarian, I made no assumptions based on your name. Your comment was unclear as to what you meant, hence why I questioned what you were saying. My brain may have spontaneous seizures but I can assure you there's nothing wrong with my cognitive powers. There's no need to be so rude.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575696613288942467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-46082099561239450032010-07-05T15:44:59.257+01:002010-07-05T15:44:59.257+01:00I had to give up a very well paid job at a point w...I had to give up a very well paid job at a point when I had just been offered a promotion that I really wanted when my eldest autistic son had his second breakdown when he was just 11 years old. He was 4 when I was told that he was having his first breakdown. I did what I had to do because he is my son and I see him as my responsibility. Caring for him has placed my entire family under a great deal of emotional strain. My eldest son has just about devoted his life to his eldest brother without ever being asked to do so. He does work but all of his social time is spent with his brothers allowing me some respite. <br /><br />I would love to be back at work but it is never going to happen. My sons DLA just about pays for the increase in the gas and electricity bills that comes about when you live in a house that never sleeps. My son goes through two beds a year and I have lost count of the mattresses that we buy in the course of a 12 month period. He has multiple allergies and everything we buy him has to be hypoallergenic. Hypoallergenic bedding is very expensive. His room has had to be rebuilt to accommodate his allergies. <br /><br />Living with autism can be very isolating for the entire family, and because it can also be an invisible disability we also sometime have problems calling on our families for support.OneVoicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350101697411045771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-33752820189954835502010-07-05T15:05:50.265+01:002010-07-05T15:05:50.265+01:00Dear wordsmith for hire
Shame you can't read....Dear wordsmith for hire<br /><br />Shame you can't read. I was referring the the fact that HMG take money in tax from people who then claim DLA.Rather than take the tax waste some of the tax taken on HMG bureaucracy then give back a lesser amount why not cut the HMG out of the loop all together thereby leaving more money better spent with the DLA recipient.<br /><br />Please engage brain rather than make an assumption based on my name.Libertarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219132362086878801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-52495588932442510462010-07-05T14:55:52.509+01:002010-07-05T14:55:52.509+01:00The biggest issue I have with all this is that the...The biggest issue I have with all this is that the benefits system is a one size fits all, in that we have to be put into boxes. Most medical conditions aren't black or white but shades of grey, with the most severely afflicted and less afflicted both suffering the same condition.<br /><br />I suffer from ME/CFS, it ranges from the bed bound to the fully able. I've tried to get DLA and failed as I don't fit neatly into a box. If I cook dinner for a couple of weeks, I find myself getting exhausted and spending my energy just doing the cooking -yet because I can cook A (and the test is can you cook a single meal NOT can you cook continuously) I fail.<br /><br />The tests have to include an element of what happens over time MS has reoccurring remitting type - what about these conditions?Alisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01849037521460218889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-48954403146804602682010-07-05T14:52:56.118+01:002010-07-05T14:52:56.118+01:00The government proposes to introduce additional te...The government proposes to introduce additional tests to reduce by billions the amount spent on disability benefits. If you seriously think that they give a monkey's about the merits of individual cases such as this one, think again.<br /><br />The cost of testing alone is likely to exceed the savings achieved by rooting out those claiming fraudulently. The only way to achieve net savings is by removing benefits from "borderline" cases such as the gentleman who took the time to write to Iain. It would be great if government intended to sit down and talk to his GP but they are not going to do that because that would cost even more money. You know it, I know it. The bottom line is saving billions whatever the social cost because the alternative is to raise taxes and this is a Tory government notwithstanding the presence of the Libdem flak-jacket.p smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04412693505325590969noreply@blogger.com