Matthew Horwood David O’Mar of Fairwater has collected thousands of football kits to give to children in Eastern Europe
‘Fit to work’: David O’Mar was diabetic and suffering with pneumonia when his benefits were taken away
A disabled dad died two weeks after being judged fit for work as he lay in hospital with pneumonia
Diabetic David O’Mar was stripped of his disability benefits in April after a work capability assessment for Iain Duncan Smith’s hated Department for Work and Pensions.
More than 70 leading Catholics have written to Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, who is Catholic, to tell him they fear the impact of his welfare reform policies.
In an open letter the group, led by the thinktanks Ekklesia and the Centre for Welfare Reform, calls on Duncan Smith to redraft his policies “in a way that is more compatible with Catholic and Christian values.”
It has been planned since 2012 but today’s closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF), which helped severely disabled people top-up their social care support, is still a source of ongoing uncertainty for both disabled people and local authorities.
The fund, which was administered from central government, is being transferred to local authority budgets in England based on what recipients in their area were allocated, minus a 5% “top slice”.
