10 signatures reached
To: Local MPs and the Government
Stop Councils from taking people's disability benefits to pay for their care
Exclude disability benefits when assessing disabled people's ability to pay for their care and/or support.
Why is this important?
Since the introduction of the Care Act, many local authorities are reassessing people's ability to pay for their own care and/or support. My daughter relies on her support worker to help her to live independently. For the last 6 years she has received funding from the Local Authority to pay a support worker to help her cook meals, shop, keep her flat clean, deal with correspondence, go to medical appointments and get out and about. Without any warning or discussion, it stopped on the same day she was visited to 'check' she was receiving the right amount of benefits. A subsequent letter informed her that after the general living allowance was deducted from her benefits, there was enough income left to pay for her own care. The Government 'say' that she needs £x amount to live on then our Local Authority say she can live on less than half the benefit amount. It is very wrong and very soon you will be talking to someone who is affected by these assessments (parents of disabled adults, people with aging parents and/or people who need care). Please support this campaign to force Local Authorities to ignore disability benefits when assessing people's ability to pay for their own care so they can exercise choice and control over their lives.