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onebigvoice

This is to all disabled, long-term sick, or anyone on benefits and trying to return to work.

Scope have a campaign about the cost of Disability, if everyone filled in a simple letter enclosed to your local MP's around the country we will make a difference. How many Disabled people voted? Read this.

Dear Mr &&&&&&&, M P.

My name is &&&&&&&, and I live in Cardiff South and Penarth. I am writing to raise my concerns about the extra cost of disability.

Scope’s new Price Tag report shows, on average, disabled households need an additional £1,010 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. After housing costs, this equates to 67% of household income.

Disabled people have to spend more on a range of things. For example, higher prices of specialist food, paying for taxis due to a lack of accessible public transport options, or increased energy usage to charge vital equipment.

I do not understand the Government's reluctance to understand these calculations. I am sure that the feasibility study completed last year and the comparison to this year's costs have already been proven. The government would have said something by now. We have also had the introduction of the Social Care Act. I see no one altering anything in line with that only to say they are spending more money to get disabled people back into some sort of work. I have no problem with that what I have a problem with is the people that are changing benefits are not adhering to the Mandate they have been given. Working with the disabled and long-term sick does not end with a DWP Decision Maker and Assessor, saying they saw nothing at the interview, or back-to-work interview without discussing adaptions that need to be made in the workplace or at home. This is where the money should be spent, this e-mail already states the cost of disability so why are you not listening to that? Soon accountability will be coming to a community near you, where the mobilisation of all disabled and long-term sick will be heard, where MP's all around the country will have to listen and react, not just promise.

As my MP, your support in raising awareness of the extra cost of disability is really important to me. I want to see the Government take steps to tackle the extra cost of disability. Scope recommends reform to the benefits system and targeted action to reduce the cost of energy for disabled households. 

I am asking you to write to the Chancellor to raise my concerns about the extra cost of disability, and ask them to take steps to address this. Scope are happy to send you a draft letter. To find out more about the extra cost of disability, please read Scope's Disability Price Tag briefing (DOC 86KB), and meet with their team. Scope have also written some suggested Parliamentary questions. To receive the draft letter, or to meet with them, please email publicaffairs@scope.org.uk

I am keen to hear what steps you will be taking to support disabled people in Cardiff South and Penarth with extra costs.

Thank you, 

&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&
&&& &&&&&&&&&& Street
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Rosie_Scope

Thanks for sharing that with your MP @onebigvoice, I hope you get a response.

It'll be interesting to hear what their reply is if you feel comfortable sharing, so keep us posted 😊

If anyone would like to read about the new Disability Price Tag report for this year, it's on the Scope website here:

https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/disability-price-tag

onebigvoice

I believe that all who are disabled should be automatically sent this since the affect of diability and the cost affects everyone.

Not only as a Community of Scope but anyone who signs on to collect a "benefit" provided by the government. This includes adaptions as well as payment for unpaid carers.

The government has had it all it's own way when it comes to payments for work that is a necessity to those who are disabled but also to those who are siblings or parents of a disabled person. After all we are not a number we are people with aspirations that could be helped with the right access to benefits. Why call it a benefit if in order to get it you have to fight for it? Isn't a doctor's report or a scan result good enough that you have to describe to the "experts" that dish out help how it affects us daily? If they don't know then ask the Doctor who treats you, not have an opinion of someone that they hire to give a report that is not biased.

Again soon it will be coming down to accountability, where the DWP now state that if there is rework required then it will be looked at and if the DWP say you have to do the rework unpaid because of the quality of the work or a Tribunal says its poor quality they will refuse to pay.

All assessments are supposed to be checked before issue by the manager of the department and if rework is required the DWP passess it back to the assessment company and asks for it to be looked at again, Unpaid.

Good for us as this is the start of accountability, bad news for the assessment companies as they have to make sure that everything is correct on the assessment.