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Rallies Held Over Welfare Cuts To Disabled

Disability Cuts

First Posted: 22/10/2011 12:05 Updated: 22/12/2011 10:12   PA

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Demonstrations are being held across the UK in protest against welfare cuts for disabled people.

Events will be held across the country as part of the Hardest Hit campaign, organised by the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) and the UK Disabled People's Council (UKDPC).

Demonstrations have been organised for nine English regions and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, arranged by local disabled people's organisations and disability charities.

They will highlight cuts to local services for disabled people, but also follow the Hardest Hit rally, march and lobby in May, held in protest against the Government's Welfare Reforms, which is currently being steered through Parliament.

Demonstrations will be held in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Protesters fear cuts to benefits including Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "This Government is absolutely committed to supporting disabled people and we continue to spend more than £40 billion a year on disabled people and their services.

"However, the current benefit system is not always reaching those who need it most, which is why we will be introducing the new personal independence payment to ensure people get the right levels of support.

"And our reforms are more than just changes to benefits. The Sayce review is looking at how we can use the protected budget for disability employment services more effectively, to get an extra 35,000 disabled people into work."

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Demonstrations are being held across the UK in protest against welfare cuts for disabled people. Events will be held across the country as part of the Hardest Hit campaign, organised by the Disabil...
Demonstrations are being held across the UK in protest against welfare cuts for disabled people. Events will be held across the country as part of the Hardest Hit campaign, organised by the Disabil...
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ValeryD22
19 Fans
 
07:37 PM on 11/29/2011
A message for any disabled persons who are able to get to the demonstration under their own steam "if you can do this you should feel good about your acheivement so get a job" - disabled means you can't do that. This message is particularly directed to the many "disabled" people (some I know and some who are carers) who get all their needs met without any input from themselves, hiding behind various real or imagined "conditions" that others just get on with.
I have worked with real disabled people, with motor neuron, cerebal palsy, disfigurements, ones that cant walk without the aid of zimmer and ones in wheelchairs, ones undergoing long term medical treatments for life terminating conditions etc and it angers me that the pretend carers, pretend agraphobics, pretend alcoholics, pretend back injury, pretend neck injury, pretend depressed, pretend stressed are stealing the real disabled people's money and services and incidentally by not leading a productive life themselves are doing themselves a discervice!
You may as well be an animal in a cage, your keeper will look after your every need.
Obviously, it is more difficult to get a job or take payday loans http://britainloans.co.uk/ if you are really disabled and that should be accepted.
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David Michael Prosser
95 Fans
10:19 AM on 11/06/2011
The cuts to DLA are despicable. To take someone from the highest rates to the lowest rates without a medical are wrong. Even the Incapacity Benefit changes allow for that. What is currently worse is the letter the DLA send out telling of an eleven week delay in processing appeals.
I received DLA care and mobility at the highest rate and had it cut at the start of August. I was informed of the eleven weeks and told not to enquire during that time. It's actually at 15 weeks now and a phone call from my wife found that they had requested a Doctors visit in August due to my appeal. They hadn't informed me of this and the Doctor never came yet the had nothing in place to chase this up. Following the call we're told that they'll contact the Doctor again. This means a delay of how long now? My wife has also lost her Carer's allowance because of this but should she have stopped caring? There must be a way in which claimants who appeal have access either to an appeal panel or a medical review much quicker.
The Incapacity Benefit review is a farce with the questionaire they send out with questions that can't be answered clearly. Why not cut to the medical straight away? If either department had access to a team of doctors they may be able to ascertain fitness from the list of medications one takes, or is that too easy?
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lunacougar
186 Fans
08:56 PM on 10/22/2011
They are showing all characteristics of the Tory, attacking things like Motabilty so they can cut Mobility allowance.
I have a Motability car, a Skoda not a BMW or Audi. I am paralysed from the waist down. They want us to go back to the deathtrap Invacar a plastic three wheeled horror.
Motability cars are leased not bought, they go back to Motability after three years and are sold, there are strict standards of care and maintenance that have to be adhered to or a financial penalty is imposed.
This is not a reform it is a cut but they won't admit that.
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Tim Haselden
An Enemy of Rupert Murdoch, since 1984.
291 Fans
 
11:12 AM on 10/23/2011
But to admit to a cut on the most need of support in our society, would hurt their new "cuddly image" of "Compassionate" , "Caring" conservatives. These are tories, if they're not being caught inflegranti delicto, they're selling off your homes from under you. If they're not caught ripping the expenses system beyond belief while proclaiming innocence, They're kicking you into the gutter & expecting you to Thank them for it.
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lunacougar
186 Fans
03:29 PM on 10/23/2011
One thing we have to counter is the lie that alot of us who use Motability use it to get luxury cars free. You can, if you are wealthy enough, get a posh car, but you have to pay a hefty non-returnable deposit that more than takes into account depreciation. And as I said above it is on a three year lease. Motability retain ownership throughout and then sell the well maintained, low mileage (42,000 max) car onwards.
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Sickofpoliticians2
241 Fans
08:50 PM on 10/22/2011
"to get an extra 35,000 disabled people into work."

Another idiot from the DWP, where are the jobs for the able bodied, they don't exist, the dole queue has increased dramatically, my daughter just graduated with a nursing degree, she signs on, she's had 1 interview out of 2 dozen applications in the last month, the dole doesn't even point her to jobs, they have none, lets get people like this into the positions they gave up 4 years of their lives for, most of it spent nursing on the cheap (£300 per month bursary) and now qualified theres no jobs, try leaving the disabled alone, and I'm not including the multitudes of addicts or drunks like the DWP does but doesn't target those as they're no use to man nor beast but picks their meat by singling out those in wheelchairs. The lunatics are in charge of the asylum afaic.
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Tim Haselden
An Enemy of Rupert Murdoch, since 1984.
291 Fans
 
11:03 PM on 10/22/2011
Make that "To get an additional 35,000 disabled people into work... camps er sorry disability centres... er sorry appropriately targeted facillities.
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Kenz300
2482 Fans
02:10 PM on 10/22/2011
Since this recession was caused by the financial sector -- the financial sector should help get us out of the recession.

There needs to be a financial transaction tax so that the people that got us into this mess can help pay to get us out of it.
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Mick Mclaughlin
3 Fans
12:47 PM on 10/22/2011
Well I hope they have a good turnout. This government along with sections of the media have attacked the disabled because they are easy 'pickings'. Sure there will always be examples of fraud to hawk around - but the objective is to portray these examples as systemic , when of course they are not.
When you cannot get around and even going shopping is a major task the last thing you want is these LibCon merchants trying to find the 'right level of support' for you.
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