Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

AFAIK, you effectively hand over your mobility allowance for 3 years for the most basic model, but pay a lump sum upfront if you want, or need, a better or more suitable model (plus pay for some types of modifications).

Insurance and servicing is included, but there are many restrictions such as maximum free mileage (60,000 over 3 year years, then 5p per mile), and the condition of the vehicle when you return it. In the event of an accident, you are required to pay an excess. Ditto for any marks, scratches or dents.

Don't forget that it is a LEASE not a purchase, the car is never yours.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

Anyone who doesn't understand the physical, mental and emotional demands of caring for disabled children ought to try it for a day or two and see how they fare.

Caring for a child with CP or other serious conditions is a full time job. They often require constant supervision and intervention throughout the night in which case any free time available to the carer when the child is at school, for example, could well be needed for little luxuries like sleep, maybe even just a little relaxation away from the constant stress involved in dealing with that child and the demands of ordinary life including any siblings.

In the normal course of events as kids grow they require less assistance and supervision. As children with special needs grow so do the problems and the demands placed upon their parents. Just their physical size, weight and strength can be a major issue and couple that with hormonal changes and it ought to be clear just how much harder life often gets as the child being cared for grows. At the same time, the general sympathy and understanding of the public reduces and therefore the options available to the parents for taking their children out lessen and they become more isolated.

IMHO, helping families care for and cope with their disabled children when they're younger is an investment in the long term wellbeing of the child and one less place required in care which is incredibly expensive, especially for children with serious medical issues who need specialist provision, nurses etc. The longer parents are able to care for their children at home, the less the demand on the state in other ways whether that be fostering, assisted living, respite care, long term residential care all of which are far more expensive than options DLA and CA.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

It can get so bad that even respite is refused as "there is no-one qualified to care for your child". And that is just one excuse we have been given during our 23 years of requesting any form of respite for our twins.

And life hasn't got any easier as they have grown into young adults. :(

I had a phonecall a couple of days ago for the "urgent" return of my daughter's ESA reassessment forms. Forms I only received a week before. Another hoop to jump through yet again. :(

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

A sad fact that some children are carers for their parents and they keep the family together, when they should be out playing.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

Thanks Taf. If a person who has a taxpayer-funded motability vehicle can afford to upgrade, shouldn't they just be buying a car from their own funds in the first place so that those who are in real need can be provided with a basic means of personal transport?

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

Many disabled who qualify for a motability vehicle would probably not be able to get insurance if they leased or bought a vehicle elsewhere.

As for the vehicle being taxpayer-funded, it is of course, but the same benefit could also be used to pay for taxis if they were unable to use buses or trains, or were indeed unable to drive or have someone to drive them.

The upgrades cost can be quite small, in the hundreds, but for certain disabilities the cost can be quite high to match the vehicle to their needs.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

There is the other side to the coin in Cardiff though Taf, there are families with severely disabled children doing quite well out of the system. These families are costing the local authority where one parent is receiving full carers allowance, the child spends 2 or 3 over night stops with a foster carer, the children are taken out for the day on a weekends and in some cases each time social services visit the the family the local authority has to pay for an interpreter.

The most annoying part in most of these instances is that the disability could have been avoided.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

Agree 100%. I still don't know hope you cope without respite Taff but I know you're doing a great job so every credit to you. :tu:

You're quite right about all the hoops - as the kids grow older, the desire to 'protect' their 'rights', in many cases adds greatly to the burden of looking after them. It's bizarre really because, as we've seen all too often in places like Rotherham, putting kids in 'care' isn't a guarantee of real care at all (far from it) yet parents are being increasingly pushed down this route by the onerous responsibilities being placed upon them by well intentioned (I'd like to think) people who haven't got a clue just how hard it is to care for a disabled child/young adult/adult.

We were told that respite care locally for for kids with complex needs costs c. £350 per night. Compare that to the pittance the carers get and you see how much of a false economy deterring carers from caring is.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

The bloke I know paid just under £16k for a saloon car when a similar vehicle for half that price would have sufficed in terms of his mobility. It doesn't seem like it was a 'small' upgrade.

And I know I can't see his pain but I can see that he mows the lawn, paints his front door and goes off for walks with a knapsack on his back.

I can think of a few people, able and disabled, who'd swap for his suffering over theirs.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

I personally know 2 families where the decision was openly made to have more children well after the mothers' 40th birthdays in the hope that one or more would be disabled.

And sadly one of the children was born severely handicapped.

The families' backgrounds would not really surprise most people.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

The cases I'm aware of are due to first cousins having children together. Due to their cultural background the stigma of a defective child means they want to push the problem onto the authorities instead of caring for them. They have further attempts to see if they can produce a healthy child. It's not uncommon for these families to have more than one severely handicapped children with the tax payer footing the bills. Instead of making the practice illegal, the government and local authorities keep paying the money and bury their head in the sand for fear of being branded racists.

Re: Torys to cut housing benefit of young
 

http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2...its-from-8-May

The proposed Housing Benefit cuts by the Tories are not only for young people to worry about.

There are fears that the new benefit cap will lead to homelessness for many families as landlords will be reluctant (or it will not make commercial sense) to grant them a tenancy.