Tag Archives: disability

Disabled people 'could be forgotten' amid social care reform

January 17, 2013   benefits, Carers, disability

A third of people getting social care are younger people with disabilities

By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

Adults with disabilities in England are being deprived of basic care and support and are at risk of being forgotten in the wider reform of the social care system, campaigners say.

Much of the focus on care has been centred around the crisis facing the elderly.

But a coalition of charities has warned people with disabilities under the age of 65 are being neglected too.

They said the squeeze on council care meant many were already missing out.

And the groups, including Mencap, Scope, the National Autistic Society, Leonard Cheshire Disability and Sense, warned the situation could deteriorate under the forthcoming reform of the system.

Ministers are soon expected to announce a cap will be placed on the costs people face for care.

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While our pensioners are living in poverty, should we really be sending more money abroad?

January 16, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Carers, charities, dementia, Older care

Funding the care for our vulnerable elderly is an issue of morality, not charity, writes Tracey Crouch

By Tracey Crouch

1:49PM GMT 15 Jan 2013

Last week, Parliament spent a full afternoon debating the extremely important issue of dementia. Colleagues from across the House spoke with real passion and emotion, sometimes based on personal experience, about a dreadful condition which in just a few years time will affect over a million people, or one in three of those aged over 65.

Most people will already know someone who has dementia or who will suffer from dementia in the future, and so how politicians deal with our ageing population and all the related issues that it brings is a real life electoral issue. People judge a government on its morality, and what can be more important than how we treat our vulnerable elderly?

It breaks my heart to hear about those in their retirement living in poverty. The Government has done the right thing to introduce the triple lock into pension increases, maintain the commitment to the winter fuel allowance and continue with cold weather payments. But with adult social care budgets being cut and a care funding crisis looming, so much more needs to be done, and it is time we recalibrated our spending priorities to ensure that taxpayers money, stretched as it is, goes into providing the services we need at home, not financing projects abroad.

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Why means testing benefits is not efficient or fair

January 14, 2013   benefits, Carers

Means testing does not work like universal benefits, it denies people entitlements they have contributed to and are eligible for

Cutting travel passes can actually end up causing greater public expense, warns Peter Beresford. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

There are increasing calls for means testing more benefits. These are fertile times for such proposals and they are grabbing attention. It comes at a time when the government is cutting back on public spending in the name of reducing the deficit and when more and more people are feeling the pinch and are worried about money.

Means testing has been introduced for child benefit and is now being suggested for a wider range of benefits, particularly for older people. High profile candidates have been the travel pass and the winter fuel allowance. All older people are currently entitled to these.

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