The fringes of the fringe

The disability News Service ran an article on the 26th September 2012 cleverly entitled “restricting disabled people to the fringes of the fringe”. The writer was attending a fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton, this meeting was organised by the Care and Support Alliance a consortium of 50 organisations that “represent and support disabled people”. The topic for this meeting was health and social care reform, on the panel, were representatives from Mencap (for the alliance), the cancer charity Anthony Nolan, the Royal College of Midwives, and the Medical Protection Society, and ironically those most affected by health and social care reform, service users were not represented.

These organizations were I presume there to represent their own interests, which the writer points out were not always the same as the interests of disabled people and other service users. Disability has become big business and in many cases where money is the driving force the most vulnerable will as in this case be relegated to the fringes of the fringe.

To read the Disabilty News Service Article please click here

GPs do not understand social care services, study shows

Majority of GPs admit they do not understand non-residential care services, and local authorities are not clarifying alternatives.

The majority of GPs admit they do not understand all the social care options available to their patients, a new study reveals.

Just 15% of family doctors who took part in the research said they fully understood all the care services options available.

More than half of the GP respondents admitted they do not understand non-residential care services, and two-thirds said they receive little or no support from local councils, according to a study by independent consultancy Impower.

Director at Impower Jeremy Cooper said that the findings identified a much bigger opportunity to tackle the social care funding crisis.

The research – of more than 100 GPs, 60 social care professionals, and 500 people aged 65 and over – revealed GPs significantly underestimate their influence on social care decision-making. For further reading click here.

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Housing Benefit is changing from 1 April 2013 for people who rent from a social sector landlord.

 The Welfare Reform Act 2012 announced that the current rules for the size of accommodation that Housing Benefit will cover in the private rented sector will be applied to working age tenants renting in the social sector.
From April 2013 all current and future working age tenants renting from a local authority, housing association or other registered social landlord will receive Housing Benefit based on the need of their household.
The size criteria allows one bedroom for each person or couple living as part of the household with the following exceptions:

• Children under 16 of the same gender are expected to share
• Children under 10 are expected to share regardless of gender
• A disabled tenant or partner who needs a non-resident overnight carer will be allowed an extra room.

This means those tenants whose accommodation is larger than they need may lose part of their Housing Benefit. Those with one spare bedroom will lose 14 per cent of their Housing Benefit and those with two or more spare bedrooms will lose 25 per cent. For further information please click here.

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Residential college places for young disabled at risk

New funding rules will make specialist college places for disabled young adults even harder to get, and could threaten the colleges' very existence.

Born with a rare neurological condition, 19-year-old Joe Rae has learning difficulties and problems with speech and motility. He is a student at National Star College in Cheltenham, a specialist residential college for young people with complex physical disabilities, where he has hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, lessons in music, dance and life skills and, in his mother's words, has made "extraordinary" progress. Click here for more

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Government eyes end to benefits and inflation link

The government is considering ending the automatic annual increase in benefits in line with inflation, sources have told BBC Newsnight.

If implemented, the move would see many benefits frozen for two years, then rising only in line with average pay.

In recent years inflation has risen at a far higher rate than average earnings - Whitehall officials say a switch since 2008/9 would have saved £14bn.

The government needs to find £10bn of extra savings in the welfare budget.

Sources stressed the detail of how to make these cuts had not yet been discussed. They would not be drawn on which policies were being looked at. Click here for more.

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Disabled Children Parents’ Guide: Social Care, Housing and Health

A paper with John Bangs concerning the potential for the draft Bill (if enacted unamended) to have an adverse impact on Young Carers and Parent Carers. To access a copy, click here.

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Carers Trust disappointed over Government's refusal to support a Private Members’ Bill

Carers Trust express disappointment that the Government has refused to support a Private Members’ Bill designed to improve identification of carers and improve access to services to support carers and disabled people. Carers Trust supported the Bill along with 28 other national organisations but were disappointed that the Government refused to support this important legislation. The Bill proposed the following key changes: Local authorities to provide sufficient supply of social care services, including social care services for disabled people and carers who wish to work or go into education,
NHS bodies would have to identify carers
Schools to identify and support young carers
Further and higher education establishments to identify and support young carers.
Click here for more.

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