From: Wales Council for Deaf People [mail@wcdeaf.org.uk]
Sent: 26 January 2011 10:45
To: DWP Consultation DLAReform
Subject: Wales Council for Deaf People

Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed

Our response to the DLA Consultation is made with the needs of deaf people in mind

Q1 : The barriers which prevent deaf people taking part in society are lack of communication support , hearing has been deemed a bodily function , and thus deaf people are entitled to this type of support something which is difficult to convince the DWP of .

 

Q2 : DLA should remain as it is with regards to deaf people

 

Q3 : The main costs for deaf people is the paying for communication support to take part in society and for a companion when travelling by public transport

 

Q4 : I cannot see what the advantage is in changing the number of rates 

 

Q5 : Claims should be based on need , some people are more able to cope than others and their activities differ widely

 

Q6 : For deaf people the main support need to take an active part in society is COMMUNICATION support , the need is for access to BSL interpreters and lipspeakers or speech to text operators

 

Q7 : Not all conditions are variable , once you go deaf you do NOT recover it is permanent for life

 

Q8 : Aid/Adaptions can help but they don’t remove the disability , it is not safe to believe a particular aid will suit a particular disability , this is particularly so in the case of deafness where there seems to be a prevalent belief that a hearing aid cures deafness , this idea is a joke

 

Q9 : I really couldn’t suggest any reasonable idea

 

Q10 : Assessment needs to be carried out by a DEAF professional , this is the only fair way of assessing a deaf claimant , no one else could possibly understand what it is like to be deaf in our society

 

Q11 : There are no people who could provide an accurate assessment of ALL conditions

 

Q12 : Review should focus on the needs of the individual . There is a wide variety of need across the disability field , this includes what taking part in society means to each person and how they do this

 

Q13 : It is highly unlikely that a deaf persons need would change in their lifetime , indeed it may become more acute 

 

Q14 : Advice needs to indicate clearly why PIP is being paid , ie to support independence , so that people will be able to show how it will support that independence

 

Q15 : Our experience with DLA has shown that different parts of the country appear to apply differing criteria thus advice and support on application has not always been successful

 

Q16 : An option to meet one-off costs would be useful and lead to choice by the individual and the support would not then be tied to the Local Authority who do not always take a person’s choice into account when supplying aids

 

We are not in a position to answer Q17 , Q18 and Q19

 

Norman B Moore

Director

Wales Council for Deaf People