The Government has announced proposals for the biggest changes to disability benefits since the creation of Disability Living Allowance & there are only days left to make sure carers‘ voices are heard in the consultation.

Last chance to respond to consultation

http://ctt-news.org/74C-D080-B6PETOJF8/cr.aspx?b=32

It is vital that this consultation receives a big response from carers, disabled people & the groups who represent them.  Whilst Carers UK represent all their membership,  their submission will still just be treated as one response.  So they have drawn up the following suggestions for groups or carers to use to write a quick response to the consultation.

All you need to do is write a quick email to the Government at the address below, including some details about your circumstances or, if you are a local group, case study details of a carer you support, stating why you are worried about these proposals.   Here’s what to include in your email:

  1. Say who you are and who you care for & that you are very concerned about losing Carer’s Allowance because the person you care for might lose their benefits
  2. Explain why you are worried (Do you think the person you care for is at risk of losing their DLA?  Do they have a condition that changes & a medical professional might assess them on a good day & fail to take account of the worse times?  Do you care for someone with a mental health condition or a learning disability which you are worried might not be assessed properly by a medical professional?).
  3. Explain what impact losing Carer’s Allowance would have on you (would you be worried about paying your basic bills, or affording to do anything for yourself, or would it mean caring was unaffordable for you & you couldn’t carry on).
  4. State that you believe the Government should not be making cuts of £1 billion to disability benefits because of the devastating consequences it could have for disabled people & carers like you.
  5. Say that it you believe that Carer’s Allowance must remain outside of the Universal Credit. Carer’s save the UK £87 billion every year with the care they provide and it would be wrong to take away Carer’s Allowance from some carers by means-testing it, as this would leave some carers without any recognition of their contribution.

Email this to the Department of Work and Pensions at consultation.dlareform@dwp.gsi.gov.uk (or David.Doherty@dsdni.gov.uk in Northern Ireland) and send a copy to your MP (you can email them by entering your postcode into http://www.writetothem.com/

The full consultation can be found here…

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