Government ‘has stripped Paralympians of their Motability vehicles’

Originally Posted by Kursk

Do the CF members here who are in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of DLA feel that paralympians, athletes, should qualify for the same benefit as they do?

If they qualify for it according to the rules, yes, if they don't, no.

They should not be treated any differently because they happen to be a paralympian.

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by martyh

Yes ,because many people on DLA do work .As i understand the payment it is to aid with expenses incurred due to a specific disability to enable recipients to go out to work or live something approaching a normal life

Ok, all contributions welcome although the question was specifically for those who receive the allowance.

Originally Posted by Kursk

Ok, all contributions welcome although the question was specifically for those who receive the allowance.

Apologies ,didn't realise that non recipients where not allowed an opinion

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by martyh

Apologies ,didn't realise that non recipients where not allowed an opinion

Originally Posted by Kursk

Ok, all contributions welcome

I award you an allowance for word blindness

[rogerdraig]

Originally Posted by Kursk

Do the CF members here who are in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of DLA feel that paralympians, athletes, should qualify for the same benefit as they do?

Is it relevant that by definition, they are very mobile, possibly already receive UK Sport, Lottery and sponsored funding to enable them to participate in a chosen career whilst many young ambulant people are scrambling around to get a job, to buy a car, buy a home and raise a family?

yes just because they get around doesn't mean they are not in pain or that it makes doing everyday stuff difficult the whole point of this award was to enable people to live a fairly normal life

Just because they are fitter and maybe healthier than me doesn't mean that they are still not disadvantaged being mobile

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by rogerdraig

yes just because they get around doesn't mean they are not in pain or that it makes doing everyday stuff difficult the whole point of this award was to enable people to live a fairly normal life

Just because they are fitter and maybe healthier than me doesn't mean that they are still not disadvantaged being mobile

But if you are in a position to fund your mobility and indeed have a career that literally celebrates your mobility, why do you need DLA?

The silence is deafening in here .

[rogerdraig]

it was never a means tested benefit it just levels the playing ground and just because they are para Olympians doesn't mean they have a great deal of money

the adaptations and wear and tear on a car can up to thousands a year extra that an able bodied well person doesnt have to cope with so whether they earn £5k or £50k a year it gives them a chance to compete work etc

Originally Posted by Kursk

But if you are in a position to fund your mobility and indeed have a career that literally celebrates your mobility, why do you need DLA?

The silence is deafening in here .

I suspect most Paralympians don't get the sponsorship some of their more well known number in more high visibility Paralympic sport do. In fact according to a BBC report I saw on TV the Paralympics get half the sponsorship that the Olympics does..and sorry I just can't find a link to it due to the really weird search engine they have on their site..

[Pierre]

OK

Paralympians heading to Rio next week have lost their Motability vehicles after being reassessed as part of the government’s programme of benefit cuts and reforms, a member of the ParalympicsGB team has revealed.

So this guy has revealed this scandal, he must have some juicy evidence and detail to break such a story as must the journalist to write about it.

Some Paralympians have spoken previously of the importance of the support they receive from the benefits system, particularly through disability living allowance (DLA), but this is the first confirmation that any of them have lost that support as a result of the government’s austerity programme.

Confirmation from whom, I can't see any confirmation

The 20-year-old said he knew of fellow Paralympians who have already lost their Motability cars after being reassessed for PIP

He said: “There have been Paralympians who have been told that they are too able to claim Motability and they have had to fight to get the cars back because they have been taken off them..

OK so he does know, no doubt he'll tell us who, how many, how big is this issue

“I don’t know too much about it

Hold on, this whole story is based on your knowledge

I haven’t spoken to them about it because that’s a personal matter for them, but it’s something I’m a little bit concerned about.”

So you don't know, you may have heard something maybe.

Good fact finding bit of journalism there.

He said he was not comfortable providing further details about colleagues, and could not say how many fellow team-members had lost their Motability vehicles, but added: “All I know is anyone with disabilities is getting assessed at the moment, so it’s a possibility for any of us.”

Pah!

Fair enough..you don't believe it..but I do.

[Kursk]

Pierre does have a point. Is this another case of the slightest mention of the word [whisper]allowance[/whisper] and containment ensues? Just in case.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Fair enough..you don't believe it..but I do.

I believe it, I know several people who have lost their cars so I've no reason to assume Paralympians are any different.

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Fair enough..you don't believe it..but I do.

I don't understand why paralympians are even mentioned ,the reassessment applies to all disable claimants on DLA.One has nothing to do with the other

I suspect its just a way to sensationalise it.

'Government has stripped Paralympians of their Motability vehicles' is just a bit more of a headline than 'DLA reassessment means some claimants lose their car benefit'.

[Kursk]

Does reassessment include means-testing or is it a physical capability reassessment only?