Debt with Disability News Articles

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][B]Disability welfare changes delayed by assessment process[/B][/CENTER]

[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial][B]Disability welfare changes for England, Scotland and Wales have been delayed because the government has been unable to assess claimants in time.
[/B][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial]Personal Independence Payments will replace Disability Living Allowance next week only for claimants in certain areas rather than across Britain. Ministers said assessments were taking longer than expected and the scheme would now be phased in more gradually. Labour's Rachel Reeves said it showed there was "chaos" in the department. Over the next few years the government is moving around 3.3 million Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants, aged 16-64, to the new benefit - the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). DLA - worth between £21 and £134.40 a week - is available to disabled people who have difficulty walking or need help to look after themselves. Under the PIP system, which introduces regular written and face-to-face medical assessments, claimants will receive a daily living component of either £53 or £79.15 and a mobility component of either £21 or £55.25. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) says the new system will be simpler and fairer and is essential to control costs to the taxpayer, which have risen to £13bn a year since DLA was introduced in 1992.....[URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24680366"][B]Read more here[/B][/URL][/FONT][/COLOR]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][B]Councils will 'struggle to cope' with deluge of calls when £72,000 care home cap is introduced[/B]
[/CENTER]

Councils across Britain will struggle with the huge demand for information ahead of the introduction of the £72,000 cap on later life care, a retirement specialists has predicted. The cap on the amount an individual can spend on residential or nursing care will be introduced from April 2016, and Partnership has warned that many councils will be ill-prepared for the deluge of calls they can expect. Currently, only 19 per cent of people contact their local council for information when they are choosing a care home for themselves or a relative, but that is expected to surge when the cap is brought in.....[URL="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-2512300/Councils-struggle-cope-care-home-cap-introduced.html"][B]Read more HERE[/B][/URL]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[B]The FCA fines Porta Verde £25,000 for serious failings in its appointed representatives’ sales practices[/B]

Porta Verde Financial Services Limited (Porta Verde) has been fined £25,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) after two of its appointed representatives (ARs) mis-sold insurance, often to elderly and vulnerable customers, between October 2010 and June 2012. These companies used high-pressure sales tactics and misleading information to push consumers into buying insurance for satellite TV equipment, plumbing and drainage repairs.Tracey McDermott, the FCA's director of enforcement and financial crime said:

[QUOTE]
"Porta Verde is responsible for the unacceptable sales tactics used by its representatives. Firms should be in no doubt that we will take action when they - or their appointed representatives - fail to treat their customers fairly."[/QUOTE]

On one occasion a sales agent misled a customer's carer to obtain permission to process payments. On another, a customer clearly thought he had been called by his satellite TV provider to discuss subscription fees. Despite his confusion, he was transferred to the agent's manager and asked to purchase cover.....[URL="http://www.fca.org.uk/news/porta-verde-fined-appointed-representatives"]Read more here[/URL]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[B]'Nursing home billed me £600,000 - for what?' [/B][B]One 95 year-old nursing home resident has seen her fees rise 129pc, with barely any explanation[/B]

[COLOR=#282828][FONT=georgia][FONT=arial]Can a nursing home increase its fees by any amount, effectively holding its elderly residents to ransom?[/FONT]
[/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#282828][FONT=georgia][FONT=arial]As far as David Edmondson and his aunt Eunice are concerned, the answer is yes. Mr Edmondson has lasting power of attorney over the affairs of Eunice, 94, who went into a nursing home in December 2001. Her fees in her first year were £30,940. This year – according to the latest letter from the care home operator Barchester Healthcare – the fees will be £69,803. That is an increase of 129pc. During the period 2001-13 general inflation, as measured by the Retail Price Index, would have pushed her bills up to £42,000, or a total increase of 40pc. Medical costs do rise more rapidly than general living costs but is this scale of increase justified?....[URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/longtermcare/10577165/Nursing-home-billed-me-600000-for-what.html"][B].Read more here[/B][/URL][/FONT]
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][COLOR=#333333][FONT=SkyNewsRegular]Dementia: Shop Staff Will Train To Spot Illness
[/FONT][/COLOR][B]Diagnosis times will also be cut, as the Health Secretary pledges to make Britain a world leader in dementia care.[/B]

[COLOR=#666666][FONT=SkyNewsRegular]More than 190,000 high street staff will be trained to spot the signs of dementia under a raft of new measures to help people with the condition. [FONT=Tahoma]Workers at Marks & Spencer, Argos, Homebase, Lloyds Bank and Lloyds Pharmacy will become "dementia friends" to provide better support for sufferers. [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]An estimated 800,000 people have already been diagnosed with dementia, but experts expect this figure to soar to 1.7 million by 2051. [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma]Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the new package of care would make the UK a world leader in fighting the illness, which he described as "horrific and heartbreaking"......[URL="http://news.sky.com/story/1218695/dementia-shop-staff-will-train-to-spot-illness"][B]Read more here[/B][/URL][/FONT][/FONT][/COLOR][/CENTER]

[vint1954]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

I guess a question that i am going to have to deal with sortly. How do you pay your Mortgage with a sudden long term disability ?

[pompeyfaith]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Do you get this Vint if not is worth looking into to see if you qualify

[URL]https://www.gov.uk/support-for-mortgage-interest[/URL]

[vint1954]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Thanks Pompey I will look into it. I have only just lost a leg, so not signed as disabled yet.

[pompeyfaith]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Sorry to here that Vint, get you claim to PIP in too and if you need help with this right through to appeal if it goes that far let me know as Ill put you in touch with someone who can help

[vint1954]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Thanks Pompey.

Do I also claim for unemployment benefit as I have had my contract terminated? Now I have mortgage protection for Unemployment.

[pompeyfaith]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

Well you have to be fit to work to claim unemployment benefit and at the moment clearly you are not so I would be claiming Employment Support Allowance instead off.

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[B]Disabled staff deliver benefits for companies who get past prejudice[/B]

[B]Scheme to dispel the myths about taking on disabled employees spells out the benefits to companies' bottom lines[/B]

[COLOR=#282828][FONT=arial]“When you say disability people think 'wheelchair,” observes Janice Hanson. For many employers, the first thought is having to build access ramps and the cost involved. In fact, wheelchair users make up only a tiny proportion of disabled workers and the average cost of adjustment for taking on someone with a disability is just £75 a year. Henson is a director with Placeability, a business which finds jobs for people facing complex barriers to employment, and she says one of the main problems is the attitude of employers: “They think they will have to spend so much.” The fact that disability is often “hidden” means that many people have no real idea of what it actually means. “Disability can mean having dyslexia, having or recovering from cancer, or autism,” she points out. “It doesn't always show.” Employers shying away from taking on people with disabilities are missing out, when they need only make small changes to bring them into the workforce.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]“One company took on a guy with autism working in a nuts and bolts warehouse and he was incredibly productive. He didn't want any chitchat, he just wanted to sort the job out. Another example is an engineer who had epilepsy, so was unable to drive. He could get government funding for his transport so he could continue to work.” [/FONT][FONT=arial]A series of roadshows are under way to showcase the talents of disabled workers, dispel myths about the practicalities of taking them on and bring more into the workplace. [/FONT][FONT=arial]Some 54pc of disabled people between 16 and 65 are unemployed, a total of 3.6m of working age.......[URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/10814983/Disabled-staff-deliver-benefits-for-companies-who-get-past-prejudice.html"][B]Read more here[/B][/URL][/FONT]
[/COLOR]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[B]Failing England Care Homes Risk Being Shut Down[/B]

[h=2]All 25,000 care homes in England are to be reviewed and rated, with those failing to make the grade at risk of being shut down.[/h]Every care home in England is to be inspected and rated in a new drive to prevent abuse and neglect of residents.
All 25,000 care homes and homecare services will be assessed by the Care Quality Commission, starting in October.
And from April next year, those rated as inadequate face being put into special measures. If they fail to improve care within a set time limit they could be closed down. The move follows the success of a turnaround programme in hospitals identified last year by NHS England as having a high death rate. Details released by the Department of Health show that of 11 hospitals that were put into special measures, five have improved to such an extent that they have now been cleared, or are expected to be shortly. Another four have made significant improvements but are expected to be kept under special measures for another six months. A decision on the final two is expected later this week.....[B][URL="http://news.sky.com/story/1301660/failing-england-care-homes-risk-being-shut-down"]Read more here[/URL][/B]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[CENTER][B]Disabled face living costs penalty, says Scope[/B][/CENTER]

[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial][B]People with disabilities face a "premium" of £550 a month owing to extra transport, insurance and living costs, a charity has claimed.[/B][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial]Scope said that the benefits available to disabled people did not cover the extra cost, at only £360 a month. The findings will now be studied by a commission aiming to find out how disabled consumers can get better deals. It will spend a year interviewing disabled people and organisations.

[COLOR=#505050][B]'Financial penalty'
[/B][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial]The research by Scope suggested that one in 10 disabled people paid more than £1,000 a month extra on their lives owing to their disability. Common extra costs included taking a taxi to work and paying for specialist equipment such as wheelchairs. However, there was also a premium on more specialist items, such as lightweight kettles and cutlery for those who face difficulties using their hands. Insurance costs tended to be higher, most notably for travel, the charity found. "We want to end this financial penalty. That is why we are launching a commission to find ways to drastically bring down the premium disabled people pay," said Richard Hawkes, chief executive of Scope.......[URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28482968"][B]Read more here[/B][/URL][/FONT][/COLOR]

[5corpio]

Re: Debt with Disability News Articles

[h=1]Dementia patients 'face unfair care tax'[/h][COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial][B]Dementia patients in the UK face a "care tax" because they are left to sort out much of the care they need themselves, experts say.[/B][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial]The Alzheimer's Society found that on average, the equivalent of £32,242 a year was spent on care per patient. But the researchers said on average only a third - £10,784 - came from NHS or council funds, leaving a shortfall. The charity said it was unfair as those with cancer or heart problems got their care free on the NHS. The research - carried out by the London School of Economics and Kings College London - was carried out to update figures compiled by the charity in 2007.

[COLOR=#505050][B]'Staggering'[/B][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Arial]Experts looked at care provided by the NHS and paid for by councils as well as the private care market and amount of unpaid support provided by family and friends. They found that caring for dementia patients cost the UK the equivalent of £26.3bn overall, but estimated that £17.4bn - two-thirds - came from private care services or in the form of unpaid care. For the individual, that works out at £32,242 a year - £21,322 of which was not from the state.....[URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29126357"][B]Read more here[/B][/URL][/FONT][/COLOR]