Right then, kiddies, the pub beckons, and I can hardly decline, so I'm gone for the day. Have fun . . .
241 days ago
RT @rattlecans: How many suicides will occur in the UK before Lab Party is willing to reconsider their policies and attitudes to the poo ...
242 days ago
@crimsoncrip Yep - excellent day, thanks. A friend took me to Edale, in the Peak District, a Mecca for walkers… (cont) http://t.co/Ht08I91Q
242 days ago
@nigeldraper Screw that! I don't drive now, but that's way too much interference in what is purely a national, even a local, issue.
242 days ago
@crimsoncrip Thanks for #CT. Bit late - been out all day.
243 days ago
A note about DLA for the hard of thinking – and the Guardian.
Posted May 15 2011 9:06am
DLA is NOT a benefit paid because we are too ill and disabled to work, it is paid because we are so badly affected that we can walk only a short distance, or not at all, and that often in serious pain.
It’s a myth that you have to be totally unable to walk to claim DLA – the basic criterion is how far you can walk without suffering discomfort or pain. Since, in my case, I can’t even sit here without experiencing severe pain, my answer to that was “Not at all”. And I am by no means unique.
There is also a care component, about which the trolls and psychos who think disabled people have to justify their existence don’t much care.
A little history. DLA rolled up into one package the old Mobility Allowance and Attendance Allowance (though the latter is still available as a stand-alone benefit for those who become disabled after the age of 65).
The DLA mobility component is officially designated as “help with getting around” because that’s exactly what it is.
DLA is also payable to qualifying disabled people who are able to work.
Currently, though, there’s a tendency to stop DLA for disabled people judged “capable” of work and forced onto JSA by Atos quacks – I don’t believe that is even legal, but they do it and nobody challenges it. Lose DLA and it screws up your Housing and Council Tax Benefits, too.
Bottom line – pay attention at the back! – DLA is not for being unable to work, it’s for being unable to walk even a short distance without pain. There are other criteria, like the risk of falling, or being unable to go out alone, both because of your disability. Not every DLA claimant – hell, not even most – has a visible disability, so don’t go thinking because you can’t see it, it’s not there. OK?
DLA is NOT a benefit paid because we are too ill and disabled to work, it is paid because we are so badly affected that we can walk only a short distance, or not at all, and that often in serious pain.
It’s a myth that you have to be totally unable to walk to claim DLA – the basic criterion is how far you can walk without suffering discomfort or pain. Since, in my case, I can’t even sit here without experiencing severe pain, my answer to that was “Not at all”. And I am by no means unique.
There is also a care component, about which the trolls and psychos who think disabled people have to justify their existence don’t much care.
A little history . DLA rolled up into one package the old Mobility Allowance and Attendance Allowance (though the latter is still available as a stand-alone benefit for those who become disabled after the age of 65).
The DLA mobility component is officially designated as “help with getting around” because that’s exactly what it is.
DLA is also payable to qualifying disabled people who are able to work.
Currently, though, there’s a tendency to stop DLA for disabled people judged “capable” of work and forced onto JSA by Atos quacks – I don’t believe that is even legal, but they do it and nobody challenges it. Lose DLA and it screws up your Housing and Council Tax Benefits, too.
Bottom line – pay attention at the back! – DLA is not for being unable to work, it’s for being unable to walk even a short distance without pain. There are other criteria, like the risk of falling, or being unable to go out alone, both because of your disability. Not every DLA claimant – hell, not even most – has a visible disability, so don’t go thinking because you can’t see it, it’s not there. OK?