Attendance Allowance to Be Abolished

One word of advice: get help in filling in the form from someone like AgeUk who offer this service. pride and self-respect prevents many people from being completely frank about why they need AA. My DM for example, if asked. "Can you dress yourself" would say she could. What she wouldn't say is that it takes her half an hour to get her popsox on sitting on the edge of the bed, then another half an hour to get all the other layers on. Then a rest and then make up, hair, teeth brushing etc. The difference in answers can mean getting AA or not as it is for personal care although most people use it for cleaners, gardeners, taxis etc which all enable them to stay in their own home.

Yes, definitely get help filling in the form, and don't be embarrassed if the person helping you is asking some potentially personal questions - that is what the allowance is for, help with personal difficulties. Someone with experience in the form-fillng knows how to word it so that will be most effective.

Galen I reckon you would be a great success in the CAB. Be warned though - I knew someone who packed it in because he was a bit outspoken and got into trouble with high heid yins for not sounding approving of some of the attitudes of his clients! Your admirable ability to call a spade a spade may not always be appreciated.

Our local CABs tend to over gild the lily on occasions. They tell people to fill the forms in as though it was the worst day possible.
They should be filled as if it was an average day
In PIP, the test is what it's like for 50% or more of the time.

In fact PIP is proving easier to get the standard care level for because of the aids. If you need to sit to prepare veg 2 points
If you need to sit to put your socks and shoes on 2 points
If you need to use a long handled brush or grab rails in the bathroom/shower 2 points
If you need to hold on to something or use a raised seat at the toilet 2 points.
Use of a dosettes box to remind you to take your tablets 1point
This means you've scored 9 points
Therefore you get standard rate care. For enhanced you need 12 pointd

Galen I agree with CAB about filling in this kind of form with the worst day information.

Along with good examples, it sets the scene for the claim process. I say this because once the person gets to the medical stage, the medical staff often assume you're not as bad as the form implies, so there's a balance to be struck. This is especially true for people at the lower end of needing help. It's the culture that has developed since the medicals were privatised and became target related and it is too late to change this now without disavantaging the claimants.

I worked for many years for Social Security and dealt with many, many people who were clearly in need, but were turned down for benefits awarded via medicals. I don't know what the statistics are since the contractor changed, but before then about 40% of appeals overturned the original decision. I don't know what kind of tribunals you sit on, but perhaps you know the latest on this.

Additional factors kick in with AA in particular. The age of the person in need and/or the person filling in the form can be relevant in that often they are not used to filling in long forms for benefits. A lot of the time now you don't even fill in a form to get your pension, so a form for AA (or a PIP) can be very daunting. They are often asked to describe a typical day, when in fact there's no such thing for them, but they try anyway and struggle. Then there's the attitude of not really wanting to admit how bad things are, plus the age old problem of the stigma. All of these things can result in not just the claim being turned down, but a reluctance to appeal.

I think CAB would snap your hand off if you applied to them.

I have read through the AA application form and cannot see that DH would qualify as the only items where I could tick the box are help with dressing (I have to do his buttons and help put jumpers over his head) and difficulty using the phone (by the time he has found it - in its usual place - it has stopped ringing. As to help getting in/out of a bath he has not attempted that in at least 5 years.

However, DH would easily meet all the criteria in Galen's PP list - sit down to prepare vegetables??? He has never prepared vegetables, sitting, standing or lying down in his entire life!!! Sitting down to put on socks and shoes??? Doesn't everyone??? He already has a high toilet seat and rails in the shower and at front door. Also a pill dosage box, which does not remind him to take his pills - I have to do that and remind/help him to put his new hearing aids in and out.

These things are the least of our worries. Why is there no mention of inability to do simple household tasks e.g. ironing, operating the washing machine, hoovering, shopping for food, cooking a simple meal, changing bedding, setting & lighting the fire? or financial stuff e.g. bill paying, remembering passwords, reading and submitting meter readings. What about feeling the cold and having the heating going full blast 24/7. Not to mention being unable to cut toenails, shave without cutting yourself or put E45 on your own back and relying on someone else or paying to have the garden dug/planted/weeded/watered, hedge cut, windows washed, curtains rehung or even a light bulb changed. Are all these things regarded as being simply part of growing old or perhaps spouse's duties?

It seems to me that these benefits are awarded in a quite arbitrary way according to rules devised by those who have never struggled on a low income or had to do all their own housework, cooking, DIY, etc.

Granny23 I understand what you mean, but remember you are filling in the form as if he was on his own. It's OK to say you help, but it's about explaining what he can and can't do without help. If you have any examples of things going wrong or that could have gone wrong, make sure to include them.

If you can't find a section on the form where you think information should go, add it to the section near the end of the form for 'additional information' (can't remember the exact wording). It's not at all uncommon for several sheets of extra information to accompany a form. I've seen forms with 'see separate sheets' written in every box asking for information about how the person manages to do something. Remember it's the job of the benefit office staff and the staff at the medical centre to work through the information to assess the claim.

It's a good idea to work through the form in stages, a bit at a time. I think you still get a month to send back the form. Quite often once you start filling in the form, you start thinking about other information you want to add. If possible, it's useful to type the information on a computer so you can go back to it and add some more details. This is also handy if you want to move it around to make it read better.

It can feel like a marathon, but the more information you can provide, the better chance you have of a successful claim.

Do get help if you're unsure. You see now what I mean about the form?

Don't forget falls, stumbles, confusion etc

Thanks folks for all the tips. I will pass them on to my relative.

Wilme I sit on appeals for DLA AA PIP and ESA

www.reform.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/ESA-2-report.pdf

It's about the fact that they want to have a single rate for out of work benefit for the sick and disabled.

"In a report published this month Reform argue that paying those with serious health conditions more money than those simply on the dole acts as a disincentive to find employment. Instead every claimant, no matter how unwell, should receive just over £70 a week, although they concede that this should be combined with an increase in Personal Independence Payments – the benefit paid to those either in or out of work which is intended to cover the additional costs of living with a disability. Many people on out of work sickness benefits are not eligible for these payments however.

The report also calls for increased conditionality for sickness benefits including a mandatory occupational health plan. This could involve a requirement to take up medical treatment with the threat of benefit sanctions for non-compliance. Astionishingly this treatment plan would not be agreed with a claimant’s GP but would instead be drawn up by a ‘Healthcare Professional’ working under the supervision of an Occupational Health specialist. Reform generously warn that sanctions would have to be carefully applied – they are opposed to people being sanctioned because they didn’t get better they claim – but elsewhere they raise the prospect of a sanction being inflicted because someone failed to follow the correct state-mandated diet."

It's all about saving money.

I HAVE SIGNED TOO

Thanks for your reply Galen. What percentage of decisions do you think are being overturned on appeal at the moment?

www.disabilitynewsservice.com/

www.disabilitynewsservice.com/atos-maximus-and-capita-forced-to-admit-assessment-failures/

I have been lurking and watching this thread and must thank you Galen for you description of how the PIP assessment works. I do understand why the CAB say that you need to fill in the AA form as on your worst day. Often our wonderful older relatives simply do not allow themselves to admit they need help. Take your examples:

If you need to sit to prepare veg 2 points - My mother could not even begin to do this but Wiltshire Farm Foods deliver her meals so she is managing isn't she
If you need to sit to put your socks and shoes on 2 points - she does and I dare not even go into her room when she is dressing as I feel the need to help (I would be shouted at). It may take her a long time, she has had to come up with all sort of adaptions to do it but, in her view, she is managing thank you very much.
If you need to use a long handled brush or grab rails in the bathroom/shower 2 points - again, she does but this means she is managing to her.
If you need to hold on to something or use a raised seat at the toilet 2 points. - same again on this one
Use of a dosettes box to remind you to take your tablets 1point - she can't remember the days well enough to use a dosette box and has to have carers come in to remind her and I have to organise that as she would now (dementia) not be able to do so although she believes she could. She has a lot, lot less capacity to judge her needs and would tell everyone how well she manages.

I think one of the great things about the new form is it seems to be just facts not some poor soul trying to prove they can manage while their relatives know they need help. I did need help with Mum's AA form - she gets the higher level. This does seem much easier.

www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2016/02/24/esa-cuts-highlight-the-pain-iain-duncan-smith-is-causing

Not just about AA.

Still waiting for an answer on AA on behalf of DM - I had a lot of help with completing the paperwork - from various - but especially Galen ... I feel confident

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have had their Mobility Scheme vehicle taken away as a result of personal independence payment replacing disability living allowance?

Justin Tomlinson Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for DWP.

The Department does not hold this information. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme, including collating its own management information and client statistics. Whilst the Department meets regularly with Motability to discuss scheme performance, questions relating to the details of the scheme’s operation should be directed to Motability itself.

This was part of a debate on 25th.
On 3rd February the BBC reported that nearly 14,000 people have had their Motability vehicles taken away from them.

How come the DWP does not know this? How come they do not know how badly they are treating people?

In the BBC report a woman with spina bifida did not get enough points to keep her motability vehicle. She said the woman doing the report had no idea what spina bifida was.

Apparently 60% of appeals go in the disabled person's favour, but by then they have lost the car or scooter.

www.leighday.co.uk/News/News-2016/March-2016/David-Clapson-call-for

Solicitors Leigh Day are hoping to go to court about sanctions, specifically about David Clapson, but also generally about those who have died after being sanctioned.

Someone on here used to work for Leigh Day, I seem to recall.

www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/11/broken-disability-benefits-need-total-overhaul-says-government-adviser

Hope it happens. Not holding my breath, though. Can't imagine IDS agreeing with this.

johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/shocking-announcement-disability-benefits-to-be-slashed-for-640000-people/

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/personal-independence-payment-aids-and-appliances-descriptors

The government response in full.
What do you think about this, Galen?
You have actually said that PIP includes points for aids. The government obviously thinks it is too generous.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/georgeosborne/12191676/George-Osborne-clears-path-for-tax-cuts-in-Budget-with-1bn-benefits-raid.html

Will he dare?
Cuts in PIP to pay for tax cuts?
After he wanted to cut pension relief and was warned off?
The man is sick if he does that.
Perhaps he just wants lots of disabled people to give up and die.