National

Following a number of events about Personal Independence Payment (PIP) (the new benefit replacing Disability Living Allowance), Hft’s Family Carer Support Service has made a series of short videos about PIP.  

Rules and how people are assessed

How to fill out the form

The Draft Care and Support Bill alters the whole framework for social care, replacing lots of overlapping and sometimes contradictory laws that have been in use over the last 60 years. The Bill is now going through pre-legislative scrutiny and the Joint Committee on the Draft Care and Support Bill, chaired by Paul Burstow MP, has set up a web forum to hear the views of family carers. Not sure how long this opportunity lasts, so take part as soon as you can !

You may have already picked up in the press that there have been some important changes to the timetable for those currently on Disability Living Allowance who will be reassessed for Personal Independence Payments. At the same time the government has also announced the proposed rates for PIP,  and published their response to the latest consultation on the assessment criteria. The attached letter gives you the relevant information. Also attached is a new quick guide that was published yesterday to take account of the changes.

This document, from the Carers UK website, summarises the main provisions in the draft Care and support Bill that relate to carers.

This version (updated in July 2012) of a document to inform people how to use the law to fight cuts in services is likely to remain important for a long time to come, as Local Authority budgets continue to be under threat, and services remain vulnerable to cuts. This is not a light read – it cannot be if it is to represent the complexity of the law – but it is comprehensive, and contains a list of law firms with expertise in lodging legal challenges to cuts in services.