There should be a disability card similar to student cards

Scytaic

Student card give students discounts on many things, and also don't have to pay council tax, which is great and totally understandable because students don't typically have much money.

So why don't disabled people also have the same thing? When even someone with PIP and UC combined, it's barely enough to live on, let alone enough to pay for the things that NHS doesn't cover. It's not like we (severely disabled people) are able to just get a job or work extra shifts, which even students can do. Especially considering just how much more expensive it is to be disabled in general, why can't it be a thing?

SueHeath

Great question @Scytaic and welcome to our great group.
I'm sure some one has discussed this before a while ago now.
So hopefully we will get an answer when the group wakes up ha ha.

Scytaic

@SueHeath Thank you!

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

I agree to a certain extent it would make life a bit easier 

Some places accept blue badge or pip award letter to allow discounts or free entry for carers or sometimes discounts 

Some people don't want the label a card represents but it would be OK if you had the choice of having one if you wish 

They do issue a card if you are registered as severely vision impaired 

I suppose its not easy as to what determines you are disabled as being disabled like in the past you could register as disabled 

racyguy

Scytaic said:

Student card give students discounts on many things, and also don't have to pay council tax, which is great and totally understandable because students don't typically have much money.

So why don't disabled people also have the same thing? When even someone with PIP and UC combined, it's barely enough to live on, let alone enough to pay for the things that NHS doesn't cover. It's not like we (severely disabled people) are able to just get a job or work extra shifts, which even students can do. Especially considering just how much more expensive it is to be disabled in general, why can't it be a thing?

Are you actually suggesting that all disabled people and not just those who have been assessed as being so receive a card that entitles them to multiple discounts and don't pay Council Tax?

You are assuming that being disabled automatically means that they 'don't typically have much money'.

I know of many that are disabled in many ways along with some that actually represent GB at the Paralympics.
Of those that I know none are on the 'breadline' - they have an income which helps them to live a comfortable lifestyle.
To suggest that they should have a card like you suggest is much like having a placard on their back asking for handouts - they would feel insulted.

Sorry but there are means tested benefits along with disability benefits that they should be applying for.

SueHeath

racyguy said:

Scytaic said:

Student card give students discounts on many things, and also don't have to pay council tax, which is great and totally understandable because students don't typically have much money.

So why don't disabled people also have the same thing? When even someone with PIP and UC combined, it's barely enough to live on, let alone enough to pay for the things that NHS doesn't cover. It's not like we (severely disabled people) are able to just get a job or work extra shifts, which even students can do. Especially considering just how much more expensive it is to be disabled in general, why can't it be a thing?

Are you actually suggesting that all disabled people and not just those who have been assessed as being so receive a card that entitles them to multiple discounts and don't pay Council Tax?

You are assuming that being disabled automatically means that they 'don't typically have much money'.

I know of many that are disabled in many ways along with some that actually represent GB at the Paralympics.
Of those that I know none are on the 'breadline' - they have an income which helps them to live a comfortable lifestyle.
To suggest that they should have a card like you suggest is much like having a placard on their back asking for handouts - they would feel insulted.

Sorry but there are means tested benefits along with disability benefits that they should be applying for.

Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed to day racyguy ha ha just thought that was a little harsh.
i read it different to you i think.

racyguy

Did you get out of the wrong side of the bed to day racyguy ha ha just thought that was a little harsh.
i read it different to you i think.

Quite possibly!
It was not meant to be harsh just trying to realistic. The OP has suggested that all disabled people are poor.
They are not. Take disabled pensioners where husband and wife have a disability that has been assessed and a benefit has been awarded to each.
They would still be entitled to a means tested benefit (in this case Pension Credit) if they had a net income of up to £800 a week.

SueHeath

Yes i know @racyguy me and hubby can not get any thing that is means tested but wouldn't it be nice to have discount into some nice places to visit if you can, i can name a few people that would benefit from a discount card,  i bet a lot of us like a bargain,

poppy123456

I didn't read @racyguy's comment as being harsh at all. I think he raises a very valid point here. Just because a person is disabled this doesn't mean they're living on the breadline so to speak.

SueHeath said:

wouldn't it be nice to have discount into some nice places to visit if you can

As you're now claiming PIP a lot of places will give either free or reduced entry for a carer to go with you. You will need to take your PIP award with you as proof. You can also check their website beforehand and all information will be available on there.

SueHeath

Think i have still got a lot to learn @poppy123456 perhaps it was me being sensitive, so sorry if i read things wrong @racyguy @Scytaic

Cartini

 The OP has suggested that all disabled people are poor.

Hi @racyguy,

I didn`t read the comment made by the OP in the same way you did.  I am disabled, but nowhere as much as some of the contributors on here.  But I do agree with the OP.

My reason being..... I`m ex-military (Royal Navy) and I am a member of 2 military discount schemes, one of which provides a card.

It in no way does that card suggest that I don`t have much money.  It does, however, provide a path to discounts on many items ranging from restaurants to cinemas to holidays.

I think you misunderstood the OP due to the way he (I`m assuming he by the profile picture) commented on students not paying Council Tax.  Students don`t pay Council Tax, whether or not they have a discount card.

I think a disabled discount card is a good idea, especially with the way the cost of literally everything is going through the ceiling.

Andy

Scytaic

Thanks for all your comments, everyone
And sorry if it was vague but to clear things up, I said disabled people who can't work or work extra shifts. Disabled people who don't get enough to live on even with all the benefits they are entitled to (don't forget how difficult PIP can be to claim for many people who need it). And as I said, even with PIP and say UC/ESA, it's still hard to live off alone when having a disability to pay for too (and like me, there's people where these are the only benefits they're entitled to, so there's nothing more we can get).

Having said that, not all students are poor, but they will still get a student discount and council tax cut regardless, they certainly aren't insulted by this lol. :P

Scytaic

SueHeath said:

Think i have still got a lot to learn @poppy123456 perhaps it was me being sensitive, so sorry if i read things wrong @racyguy @Scytaic

No need to be sorry, thank you for your comments, I agree - like discounts to nice things could also make such a difference for someone who struggles constantly with mental and/or physical health

Biblioklept

Scytaic said:

Having said that, not all students are poor, but they will still get a student discount and council tax cut regardless, they certainly aren't insulted by this lol. :P

This is very true!! I get where you're coming from completely. 

racyguy

Cartini said:

 The OP has suggested that all disabled people are poor.

Hi @racyguy,

I didn`t read the comment made by the OP in the same way you did.  I am disabled, but nowhere as much as some of the contributors on here.  But I do agree with the OP.

My reason being..... I`m ex-military (Royal Navy) and I am a member of 2 military discount schemes, one of which provides a card.

It in no way does that card suggest that I don`t have much money.  It does, however, provide a path to discounts on many items ranging from restaurants to cinemas to holidays.

I think you misunderstood the OP due to the way he (I`m assuming he by the profile picture) commented on students not paying Council Tax.  Students don`t pay Council Tax, whether or not they have a discount card.

I think a disabled discount card is a good idea, especially with the way the cost of literally everything is going through the ceiling.

Andy

I too hold Defence Discount card which was issued as a small way of saying thankyou for the service that I did.
Looking at a card for the general disabled population is going to cost someone money. The discounts offered are funded in the main by the trader. To suggest that all and sundry should have a similar card if they are disabled goes against the grain for me. Where my card is not accepted I just pay the full cost. I don't even seek a financial advantage when going to the cinema, a live show or the theatre. 

SueHeath

I see were your coming from now @racyguy you would have to see if the likes of Kew for example are willing to participate but some of these venues already allow age related or carers discount.

racyguy

SueHeath said:

I see were your coming from now @racyguy you would have to see if the likes of Kew for example are willing to participate but some of these venues already allow age related or carers discount.

Yes most places offer age related discounts. 
During my service with the Army it was not a life that most couples could cope with. On top of that pay was always an issue given what was expected of me at home. I served in some horrendous situations which you could say were life or death. But I knew that I was providing for my wife and two children in a home that I was paying for as well as protecting those at home
You could also say that there is some level of compensation in the discount card that I carry and every time that I use it brings back visions of the horrors of what I went through and had to do.
I was lucky in that I was buying our homes some of my mates on discharge ended up on the streets.

SueHeath

Yep i have known a few Lads who were in the Army @racyguy you have to be a special kind of person to want to join and see action - bless you.
Hope you managed to learn a good trade.

racyguy

SueHeath said:

Yep i have known a few Lads who were in the Army @racyguy you have to be a special kind of person to want to join and see action - bless you.
Hope you managed to learn a good trade.

No, not really there is/was very little call in civvy street for what I was trained to do. Mind you I could have probably made a mint if I had sold my services to organised crime!

woodbine

Where we live the disabled bus pass also acts as a discount card for dozens of different discounts, as does the OAP bus card.

SueHeath

Thanks @woodbine i am thinking of the bus pass x