From: Logan, Mike [MikeLogan@monmouthshire.gov.uk]
Sent: 07 February 2011 12:14
To: DWP Consultation DLAReform
Cc: 'ncoyle@disabilityalliance.org'
Subject: Your Life Your Choices Transition Project

Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed

Dear Sir/Madam

 

The project I’m working on supports young people with disabilities who are making their transition into adulthood. Most of these young people claim some level of DLA. Our project is trying to support all of these young people to plan for the future and to get the best outcomes from their transition planning.

 

A key feature of transition planning is for each young person to understand the resources, including financial resources, that they have access to. Our experience is that young people find it difficult to plan ahead if these resources are uncertain. 

 

So one of our concerns with the proposed DLA Reform is that these young people, and other people claiming DLA, will go through a period of uncertainty which will hamper their ability to maximise their independence. I experienced an example of this with the recent Incapacity Benefit changes: A service user with a learning disability who had developed a stable and independent lifestyle in his community was thrown into crisis because his IB was reviewed, then stopped (because he didn’t understand the review process, and the process of re-assessment didn’t/couldn’t take into account the nature of his disability). He then became dependent on social services to remedy this situation, and this required a series of emergency DWP crisis payments and a Tribunal decision. There was a significant cost to the public purse of this one instance of a process change, which was presumably meant to save money. I would imagine that this situation was not unique, and that many people’s lives have been affected by this change. 

 

Our project does not have the depth of experience or knowledge to provide authoritative answers to all of the questions in this consultation paper. I have read the Disability Alliance’s Interim Response, and I agree with the concerns and questions in their response, so our project is fully supportive of the Disability Alliance’s response.

 

Regards

Mike Logan

Transition Project Manager

 

Your Life Your Choices Transition Project

Tudor St

Abergavenny

NP7 5DH


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