LAW AND BENEFIT REVIEW

[part of the 'Disability Matters' & 'Law and Benefit Review' Group]
'for all disability issues’
disability.matters@yahoo.co.uk
www.lawandbenefitreview.co.uk
[01285-861752]
REVIEWS, ARTICLES, COMMENT, UPDATES, LEGISLATION, BENEFITS, PENSIONS, CARING, NHS, BILLS WATCH, ETC.
February 2008
[edition 21]

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Welcome again, we must be half way through the winter season at least by now. In Gloucestershire, UK we have had 90 mph winds, torrential rain, temperatures down to -6C and minor flooding and snow but nothing stops the arrival of the Law and Benefit Review on the 1st of the month. Many thanks for all the contacts commenting upon January's articles, and especially the state pension increases that we highlighted. The word ‘disgust’ just about covers your thoughts nicely and many of you have said that the increases in the state pension due in April next does nothing to keeping you anywhere near solvent. Unfortunately, article 20 in this issue will add to the misery of the miserly state pension rise. They may well be a brighter outlet for some 100,000 plus of you, as the Prime Minister appears to be turning 2008 into the ‘year of the carer’ as you will see in this and future editions of the LBR. Articles 7,9 and 13 is just a start .with much more to follow over the next three months so keep looking. The Prime Minister was always interested in caring matters even when he was Chancellor of The Exchequer and thankfully he is continuing his interest which looks like substantially benefiting the elderly and seriously disabled in need of home care.

By the way, if you have not yet received your winter fuel payment then please do contact your local Department of Work and Pensions office to see why not. Also, keep on eye on your bank accounts and credit cards following the loss of data discs by various government departments. Somebody is going to have a field day out there at sometime, with all the millions if not billions of pieces of personal, private and confidential details allowed by the government to be stolen from the Independent Living Fund files, HM Revenue & Customs, Child Allowance scheme, DVLA data and from other government departments. If you see the slightest error or transaction that you do not recognise then contact your bank or credit card supplier immediately.

On the March 1 2008, we will publishing full details and increases of all of the new 2008/2009 UK state benefits, pensions and other benefits. On average the pensions and benefits have increased by 3.8 per cent.

April 1 2008 appears to have been chosen by the government for a number of new controversial and not so controversial issues to commence, all of which we have written about in this issue and the December 2007 Law and Benefit Review [LBR]. For instance, the ‘cash for care’ in article 11 of this edition, the new national bus pass scheme in article 6 and the disgraceful decline in social services care for the elderly high- lighted in the December 2007 LBR.

The monthly Law and Benefit Reviews are prepared up to four/six weeks in advance of the final edition being placed on to our main website. This means that you may have read about the contents of a particular article elsewhere. Our views are sometimes controversial because we like to report warts and all, not flowery words that miss out the important issues or try to cover them up as is the norm in many media outlets. Its the facts that people are interested in, good and bad, and this is what we try to bring.

NOTE: The website which we use and has become known as the ‘beehive’ site has up to now been incorrectly shown in our Law and Benefit Review’s and elsewhere. May we asked you therefore to use the correct website name which has no ‘www.’ in front of it and should read http://beehive.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk

EXHIBITIONS

The Naidex 2008 meeting will again take place at the NEC Birmingham between April 29 and May 1 2008.

NEW MONTHLY ARTICLE

As regular readers will know, we do from time to time report on new legislation or run update’s on any pieces of legislation that are already passing through the Parliamentary process that will effect those who receive state benefits and pensions along with any proposed legislation that has been presented to Parliament as a ‘Bill’ by Members of Parliament or Members of the Government The MP’s Bills are known as ‘private members bills’ [PMB]. A PMB’s are the efforts of a single member’s of the House of Commons, supported by fellow members, who wishes to pursue a particularly subject through the Parliamentary system in the hope of it becoming law. Few such PMB’s ever get through the system to end up as law.

It is our intention to follow all ‘Bills’ presented to Parliament from their first introduction to their demise or Royal Ascent that will have some effect on disabled and elderly people. Look out for the heading ‘Bills Watch’ for the updates. Currently we are following the Health & Social Care Bill, Disabled Persons [Independent Living] Bill, Transport Bill, Housing & Regeneration Bill and the Working Time Directive from the European Parliament and have included updates in this issue with more to follow no doubt in future issues of the LBR. We will also follow the progress of matters such as ‘Putting People First’ [see articles 12 & 19 below], a new initiative by Gordon Brown to give qualifying elderly people cash for their care, or is it? Many of these proposed new initiatives roll on for months whilst they pass through various committee stages, debates and consultation periods, but we hope to ‘stay with it’ and report the progress or luck of it in the LBR.

In addition to the Bills, there are also lesser pieces of legislation known as Statutory Instruments [ S.I.] often drawn up by local authorities to introduce new Bye Laws or amend existing ones, we will also be keeping an eye of any of these that may affect the elderly and disabled persons. Parking regulations are among the most popular use of S.I.’s that can affect the use of blue badges in towns and cities and the introduction of ‘green badges’ and congestion charging.

BILLS WATCH

HOUSING AND REGENERATION BILL 2007/2008: This Bill if given Royal Approval, will help towards at least reducing the problems outlined above. The Housing and Regeneration Bill intends to establish the Homes and Communities Agency and make provision about it; to abolish the Urban Regeneration Agency and Commission for the New Towns and make provision in connection with their abolition; to regulate social housing; to enable the abolition of the Housing Corporation; to make provision about sustainability certificates, landlord and tenant matters, building regulations and mobile homes; to make further provision about housing; and for connected purposes.

In London, the Mayor has published two reports that aims to increase the number of accessible homes available for disabled people in the London area and these may be viewed and downloaded at www.london.gov.uk

1: DVLA NOW JOINS THE INCOMPETENT LIST OF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS: During mid December 2007, the DVLA based in Swansea sent personal details of 1200 drivers to the wrong addresses. Impossible but true. The information released included names, addresses, dates of birth, driving licence number and records of any motoring offences the holder had been convicted of. Were this information to get into the hands of criminals, it could leave the victims open to fraud or identity theft. It could also lead to innocent drivers receiving parking or speeding tickets committed by other drivers using false identities obtained from the DVLA. The information could also be used in the ‘cloning’ or copying of vehicle identities.

This total incompetence by the DVLA and other Government Departments appears to be endless with revelations almost appearing weekly - well it seems like that. The DVLA blame a ‘handling error’ in their mail despatch department for their blunders, but how on earth can the details of one driver who has his or her own file and almost unique individual name & address be sent to another address which does not appear on the original drivers DVLA record?

Any driver who feels that they may be compromised by this blunder should telephone 0870 240 0009. The DVLA are in contact with the police and have commenced an internal enquiry. Another ‘X’ in the box for Gordon Brown and his mandarins.

UPDATE: Within three weeks of the theft of the 25 million claimants of Child Benefits private, personal and confidential details from HM Customs and Revenue data discs, the Metropolitan Police are already about to give up the search.

In the last five months, government departments have lost millions of private, confidential and personal information that UK citizens have the right under the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act to be kept secure. In September 2007, HM Customs and Revenue ‘lost’ 15,000 details. At the same time Standard Life ‘lost’ the data of 400 savers. In October 2007, the Child Benefits Agency ‘lost’ 25 million details of child benefit claimants. In December 2007, the DVLA ‘lost’ 7,685 data belonging to Northern Ireland drivers. In December 2007, The Department for Transport admitted ‘losing’ 3 million data files of learner drivers in Iowa in the USA - what the hell were they in the USA for? Again in December 2007, the HMRC ‘lost’ 6500 data details of private pension holders. Once again in December 2007, the NHS Trusts admitted losing hundreds of thousands of data belonging to patients plus a further 160,000 children’s names and addresses by the City and Hackney Trust.

Some 200,000 NHS patients have already demanded that their patients records be excluded from the new health service database which went live in January 2008. GP,s have already started to add their patients to the database whilst many GP’s are worried that the database will not be secure following the recent loses of database’s where in one case 500,000 personal medical files were lost. The government of course continues to say that there is no evidence of any misuse of the missing data, of course not but give them time. If you do not wish to have your personal medical recorded included on the national database then inform your GP as soon as possible.

On the same theme, Britain is the worse country in Europe and one of the worse in the world when it comes to protecting its citizens privacy according to a civil liberties watchdog. Now that is a surprise. Only Russia, China and Malaysia are rated more intrusive! The UK has more CCTV cameras than everybody else and the largest DNA database even larger than the FBI in America.

2: TESCO’S GIVE OUT WARNINGS IF YOU SHOP TOO LONG: This muti-million supermarket chain has warned a disabled couple who spent more than £200 in the store at Trowbridge in Wiltshire, UK, that they had taken too long shopping. The wheelchair bound couple spent four hours buying Christmas gifts and having a meal in the cafe with their daughter who spent £100 plus a meal costing £20.00.

After leaving the store they received a letter from Tesco’s in the mail saying that they had exceeded the three hour parking restriction and if they repeated their transgression they would be fined £100. Needless to say they have told Tesco’s that they will never use their stores again. Good for them. There is no mention in the report if the couple parked in a disabled bay or in the normal car park but the writer has never seen any restrictions concerning the number of hours that you were permitted to park or shop, have you?

The report also points out that Tesco’s must have some access to the personal, private and confidential records at the DVLA to have obtained the details of the owner of the vehicle owned by the couple in order to write to them.

3: DISABILITY INFORMATION SERVICE: The Devon County Council has commenced a new website for carers, disabled people and their families. The new information serviced is called ‘Disability Information Service’ and can be reached at www.devon.gov.uk/dis. and by telephone at 0845 155 1005 and by email disabilityinfo@devon.gov.uk. although if you reside outside of Devon, the authority may be reluctant to discuss your personal problems so try the website first.

The new services will permit people to access reliable, information and advice about many aspects of disability. The whole of the Devon County Council’s county websites we have found in the past are very professional, informative and concentrates a lot on the various aspects of care and disability. Well worth a look.

The webpage www.devon.gov.uk/dis contains sites on accommodation, advocacy, carers, disability specific information, employment and education, equipment and adaptations, money, quality of life and transport plus a multitude of drop down information when the various sites are ‘clicked’ on. You could spend hours looking at this website.

4: ACCESS GROUPS GO ON-LINE: Many towns and cities have Access Groups operated by disabled people who concentrate on accessibility to premises within their own areas such as churches, shops, toilets, businesses, restaurants, etc. Several groups produce leaflets and books informing disabled people about accessible and non-accessible premises in their local areas.

Now, The Disability Rights Commission [before it changed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission] and Disability Wales have launched a new website for Access Groups and indeed all those interested in accessibility as we are. The new website can be found at www.accessgroupresources.co.uk

5: CLASS THREE SCOOTER REGISTRATION: The DVLA have announced that they are reviewing the registration issues concerning class 3 ‘invalid carriages’ following large amounts of mail from concerned disabled people. An announcement is expected to follow in the next few months.

Among the matters being reviewed is the possibility of riders of class 3 scooters holding a certificate of insurance and how scooter riders, road users and pedestrians inter-lock with one another. The provision of information and advice apparently needs to be improved, riders fitness to use their scooters will be discussed and the whole issue of why these ‘invalid carriages’ need to be registered anyway. We at ‘Disability Matters’ have reported at length on this matter on three occasions during the last six months. In article 1 of the August 2007 edition, article 1 of the September 2007 edition and article 10 of the December 2007 edition of the Law and Benefit Review.

6: NATIONAL BUS PASS UPDATE: April 7th 2008 is the start date for the new national bus pass scheme that will provide disabled and elderly people with free ‘off-peak’ travel across the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have already commenced this scheme but once again England has dragged its feet.

The new passes will be ‘smart’ with a photograph of the holder and hologram technology [like the new blue badges are having and credit cars already have] which should make them difficult to forge. The new passes will allow passengers to board buses and present their bus passes to a ‘smart-card reader’ to confirm it’s validity or if the bus is not fitted with such a device then the card may be presented to the driver or conductor, yes conductor, do you remember them? well they are coming back in some towns and cities where the occupancy of some buses are so great ,that it needs a conductor to take the fares and issue tickets to prevent delays and obstruction at bus stops and bus lanes. The new pass will replace the existing local concessions and bus passes. Many local authorities have already sent out the paper work for these new passes in advanced preparation for April 1 2008.

Elderly people living close to the Welsh and Scottish boarders often travel to towns and cities outside England when on the face of it, the new passes will not be valid - this we will investigate and report further. Will the journey be invalid insofar as moving in and out of another schemes are or will the holder of the pass have to apply for a pass in the area through which the journey passes or pay the fare or part thereof? This article will be updated in article 5 of the Law and Benefit Special issue of the LBR and under the Bills Watch of the same issue - The Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007.

7: NEW CARERS STRATEGY: The Governments new task of setting up and developing a new strategy on carers is expected to be launched during 2008. This follows an announcement in February 2007 by Gordon Brown that £33 million had been put aside for the “new deal package” and in September 2007 the establishment of a Standing Commission for Carers was announced.

Many reports have been submitted by organisations such as Carers UK and significant legislation passed, but still carers suffer lack of support, financial difficulties and ill heath as a result of their caring skills.

The Government’s report is expected to include:

1. that the voice of carers is central to the development of government policy
2. to see how carers will be affected by long term issues such as changes in demography technology, family relationship and the number of people suffering from long term conditions and mental heath problems.
3. provide an overview of the current consultation and oversee carers strategy
4. monitor implementation of the new strategy

8: RADAR HELPS THE MOTORISTS: Our friends at RADAR have published a ‘practical guide for disabled motorist’ entitled ‘Get Motoring’. Radar claims the new guide is the only one of its kind in the UK, and provides all the vital facts the disabled driver needs in one place. Issues such as price guides, adaptations, finance, accessories, etc. are contained within the guide along with many other subjects connected with motoring.

The efforts by RADAR have been made possible by support from Motability who themselves produce similar information as the ’Get Motoring’ publication for their clients. The GOOD NEWS is that the RADAR publication is free. To obtain your copy contact either RADAR on 020 7250 3222 or Motability Operations on 0800 923 0000 quoting reference MO67 or download the guide from www.radar.org.uk

Whilst mentioning Motability, we read that this organisation has increased contract holders mileage allowance from October 31 2007. The new allowance has increased from 45,000 miles to 60,000 over a three year contract. Those customers with wheelchair adapted vehicles on five year contract will have their mileage increased to 100,000 over that period. Good ah.

The new increases will automatically apply to both old and new contracts and agreements as from 31.10.2007. Customers do not have to do anything, no eligibility checks, no paperwork and no increase in costs. Well done Motability.

9: IS WERE YOU LIVE A HOME OR A FACTORY?: If you employ a carer from an agency then the legislation covering the employment of their workers is taken care of by the agency employing the carer but if you employ a carer or personal assistant paid for from the receipt of funding from the Independent Living Fund/Community Adult Care Services then certain pieces of legislation will affect you. Care Agency’s should train their staff in all aspects of safety at work, lifting and handling and care. The Health & Safety at Work Act does not affect workers employed to work in their own homes be they rented or owned and this should be explained to privately employed staff at the commencement of their employment.

The trade union ‘Unison’ accepts workers such as carers and personal assistants as members who will be represented and given advice on claiming against employers in cases of accident or more serious matters. Employers do have responsibilities to ensure that their homes do not have ‘dangers’ such as exposed electrical wiring, torn carpets, unlit areas, safe kettles and irons, fully insured vehicles that may be used for ’business’ purposes by the carer/personal assistant for jobs undertaken on behalf of their employer. Motability vehicles may be insured for caring staff to drive so long as their full name is incorporated on the insurance certificate.

The Government’s report is expected to include:

1. that the voice of carers is central to the development of government policy
2. to see how carers will be affected by long term issues such as changes in demography technology, family relationship and the number of people suffering from long term conditions and mental heath problems.
3. provide an overview of the current consultation and oversee carers strategy
4. monitor implementation of the new strategy

10: POOR HOUSING: There are six million people in the UK providing care for disabled people, sick partners, friends and relatives. There are some 8.3 million disabled people in total with 329,000 of them living in housing which it totally unsuitable for them. Properties are either generally unsuitable for their needs, which includes accessibility and the requirements of adaptations in kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, etc. and there are some 1.4 million disabled people requiring these adaptations. It is hoped that all new properties are built in accordance with the ‘Lifetime Homes Standards’ although it is being found that house builders are already constructing homes just under the lawful requirement of the number of new homes which requires the builders to build fully accessible homes with adaptations. Not very sporting of them, bearing in mind the number of people requiring accessible and adapted homes.

11: NO ROOM TO MOVE: If truth be known, the government has no idea how many people have immigrated into the UK since the eastern European expansion of the European Union. Soon, three more countries are due to join the EU and already daily ’Q’s are forming outside their embassy’s for exit visa’s to head for the UK. Turkey will, and not in the too distant future, also join the EU with predicated mass immigration to the UK to add to the numbers.

As a consequence, England, not the UK as a whole, is poised to become the most populated and crowded country in Europe with 620 people for every square mile. The crowding in England is almost double that of Germany with 232 people per km and quadruple the population of France with only 111 people per km. France is roughly two-and-half-times the size of the UK - not just England which gives some idea of the developing problem. An estimate of how many times England fits into France is nine time. Public services such as transport systems, NHS hospitals, housing and state benefits are being hit hard. The Prime Minister has just instructed local authorities to build 3 million more houses to cope with the badly under-estimated mass immigration which will continue into the near to distant future so as long as the EU continues to expand and the ‘open policy’ of entry into the UK continues. Who will pay for this extra housing?. Both Italy and France have clammed down on immigration into their countries and Germany is considering the idea as well.

The UK state benefit system is one of the reasons that attract immigrants to the UK which the government denies, but nevertheless reports confirm that both benefits and housing are being provided from day one to many. Another reason is that the government advertised the fact that 600,000 jobs need to be filled in the UK, and guess who filled them? There is also a ’knock-on’ effect with UK citizens now becoming ‘benefit dependents’, as wages are getting lower and lower due to immigrants willing to work for the minim wage or less which UK citizens cannot exist on - there are now 3.5 million of them whilst the governments ’official’ figures put immigration figures at 1.3 million, but the Migration Watch dog and the Office of National Statistics strongly dispute this figure as do the Conservatives and Liberal parties.

12: THE WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE: Following on from article 2 of the January 2008 Law and Benefit Review [LBR], the following is interlinked with that article and there will be more on the way after the Prime Minister announces the result of his visit with the European Parliament to discuss the matters.

How many carers/personal assistants work more than 48 hours during an average week - thousands. If this Directive goes ahead, what effect will this have on employers who employ staff to look after and care for them - answer - extra staff and more funding.

The Working Time Directive of 1993 and the revised version in 2000 were an implementation of the European Social Charter of 1961 that stated that Member States to the European Union had to ensure "every worker has the right to limitation of maximum working hours". The main objective of the Working Time Directive is to promote health and safety at work, given the clear evidence that people who work long hours run higher risks of illness and accidents.

The main provisions of the 1993 Working Time Directive included:

The maximum average weekly working time for an employee was to be limited to 48 hours on average. This figure included overtime shifts worked.

Employers were given a statutory responsibility to give employees at least four weeks' paid annual leave

Employees were limited to working only 13 hours in a 24 hour period and further to this employees must have one day each work where they are not required to attend work.

For night workers a shift should be no more that eight hours long in any 24 hour period, on average

This original document was superseded by the 2000 Amendment: Directive 2000/34/EC. This amendment to the Working Time Directive in 2000 extended the legislation to cover non-mobile workers in areas that were previously excluded and has been expanded to cover the majority of industrial areas since this date.

The Reasoning Behind the Working Time Directive: The central concern of the European Working time Directive was to minimise the risks to the European work force of long working hours. It had been established that a clear link exists between an employee working long hours, which will induce work-related fatigue, and that the likelihood of an industrial accident increase due to the resultant loss of concentration. Workers who put in more than 48 hours' work on average week suffer a higher risk of heart disease, stress-related and mental illnesses. The risks associated with developing diabetes and bowel problems are also raised. Within people who work over 48 hours there is also an increased likelihood that they will smoke and/or drink heavily.

The Working Time Directive and your Business: As an employer you have a responsibility to promote the health and safety of your employees in relation to the hours worked. One of the simplest ways to monitor your employees working hours is through the application of an employee time and attendance system. This will provide a simple and effective way of monitoring staff working hours and will ensure that you can uphold the employer responsibilities for employee welfare under the Working Time Directive.

Whilst the employment of part-time carers and personal-assistants is not referred to in this article, they may well become involved. Watch this space.

13: PERSONAL CARE CASH FOR ELDERLY: Elderly people in England are to be given cash to fund their own social care, the health secretary has said. This programme will strip social workers of their powers to decide which services frail old people and their families can receive. From April 1 2008, the ‘Putting People First’ scheme will means that millions of pensioners will be handed control over how the money is spent, rather than relying on social workers to make the decisions. Alan Johnson MP who announced the scheme in mid-December 2007 said it was a "radical transfer of power from the state to the public". Younger disabled people could also be allocated a "personal budget" for care. Councils will be given £520m over three years to improve services.

No longer will Individuals be accessed by social workers, but instead the individual and their family will be able to choose how the money is spent. Local authorities/district councils will then pay the cash into a special bank account which they can use to buy services from the state or private companies.

According to the government, the changes are designed to create more competition among care agencies. Mr Johnson said: "Our commitment that the majority of social care funding will be controlled by individuals, though personal budgets represents a radical transfer of power from the state to the public. "Everyone, irrespective of their illness or disability has the right to self-determination and maximum control over their own lives."

The new proposed system has received a fairly good welcome but ‘Help the Aged’ warned that “the devil will be in the detail”. It is not clear if the new scheme will only include the most vulnerable and sick. [Also see article 19]

14: PENSIONERS TO FIGHT SMOKING BAN: Pensioner residents at Colwell Court on Snowberry Road, Dovecot, Merseyside have been told to stop smoking in their lounge area, a spokesman said “the ban has ruined their social life“. CDS, the housing association which runs the home, deemed the room a public place, which makes it subject to the no-smoking legislation. Resident Charles Lucas, said he hopes to get "legal aid" to fight the ban.

Mr Lucas said: "There is no reason it should be classed as a public area - it's a private place, it belongs to us and we pay a service charge. "If I get legal aid I'll go to court and let the judge decide. "We all socialised together, we had a game of bingo and used to play cards, but we can't play cards anymore because we can't play and smoke." A spokesman for CDS said they have been advised by Smoke Free England that the communal areas of sheltered schemes are not exempt from the national ban which came into force in July 2008 CDS said: "Residents are able to smoke in their own accommodation within the scheme." But even non-smoking residents are calling for the ban to be lifted.

15: BLUE BADGE CHANGES: The New Minister of Transport Rosie Winterton MP has announced that the blue badge has been resigned and made more secure with the introduction of a hologram which should make them more secure and difficult to copy. The hologram is the gold coloured square seen on credit cards and in the future of a new bus passes.

There are also some additions to the entitlement of a blue badge. The entitlements have been extended to include children under two years with specific medical conditions and who have a need to travel with heavy and large items of medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators. A further category is for people with severe disabilities in both arms who drive un-adapted vehicles on a regular basis and are unable to operate parking meters and ticket machines.

More changes are expected to be indicated shortly. Lets hope that the powers that be tighten up on all those who make false declarations to obtain a blue badge, force local authorities to carry out positive checks on applicants and perhaps introduce regulations that only permit’s claimants of the Higher Rate of Care and Mobility benefit to be provided with a blue badge along with war pensioners, blind people and the new additions referred to above.

Despite the new rules introduced at the back end of 2007 giving power to traffic wardens and parking attendants to inspect blue badges being used to park, there is very little evidence to show that abuse, fraud and theft have been reduced even though the police in some areas are arresting people for using blue badges and not being the person to whom they have been issued.

UPDATE: Rumours are rife that traffic wardens and parking attendants are to be given the power to seize blue badges being used unlawfully. The police of course already have this power and are using it in cases of fraud where people are being arrested.

The Traffic Management Act 2004, Part 7, [Miscellaneous and General] makes no reference to any proposals to introduce powers to seize blue badges not being used lawfully, Section 94 of the Act provides the power to inspect blue badges being used for the purpose of parking by the badge holder but nothing else. If the proposals spoken about in mid-January 2008 are to go ahead, then either an amendment to the 2004 Act will have to be made, or a new piece of legislation passed or a new Statutory Instrument drawn up. What ever method is to be used, then it will most likely take at least a year to become law but we will be keeping any eye on the matter and report any activity.

16: EURO-PARLIAMENTARY MEP’S JOIN UK DELEGATES: The President of the All Party Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament, Mr Richard Howlett MEP, attended the European Motability Debate in London. The Meeting was called by Motability who invited representatives of the Departments for Transport and The Department of Works & Pensions plus major motor manufactures, adaptation and conversion businesses and others from the USA, Japan and across the European Union.

Topics discussed were the need to for motor manufactures to deal with the demands of some of the 50 million disabled and elderly people in EU land today and to concentrate upon the accessibility in and out of vehicles continues to be one of the major problems.

As in the UK, the number of the aging population is increasing, and with age comes disability. With in the next 20 years, there will be a increase of 25% in European population of disabled people. It is proposed to hold a further meeting in the Autumn of 2008 in Belgium to see how far the aims of the first meeting have reached.

17: THE BENEFIT SYSTEM DOESN'T DO MIRACLES: A lady who had been confined to her wheelchair for six can now walk after her husband who is a Baptist pastor prayed everyday for six years but when they tried to share the good news with the benefit system, the Government’s Industrial Injury Department, they were informed that her incapacity benefit could not be stopped or cancelled because their computers were not set up to deal with ‘miracles’. The Department continued to pay £600 per month, even though the now recovered lady did not want it, for five months. The money has now been paid back and the lady involved is now a carer.

18: WHO ARE YOU TO BELIEVE: In article 12 of this Law and Benefit Review, we reported on the introduction of the ‘Putting People First’ scheme whereby elderly, frail and vulnerable people would be given funding so that those qualifying and their families can chose how to spend it on being cared for.

The sum offered totalled £520 million but now the Local Government Association [LGA], towns halls and charities are saying that the funding will not go far enough leaving some that will still lose all their former care services. The LGA also points out that elderly people will have to pass two tests before they received home help - a needs test and a means test as well as being classed as either ‘critical‘ or ‘substantial‘. There is another quirk that has been revealed and that is how much will come from the pockets of the elderly and their families. Seriously disabled people being cared for at home, which includes elderly people, who are in receipt of funding from the Independent Living Fund/Adult Care already and always have done so, contribute at least the whole of their Higher Rate Care towards their care.

The Governments attempt to continue home help is a step in the right direction but more money is needed to avoid hundreds of thousands being left to fend for themselves. [Also see article 12]

19: FOOD PRICES ARE NOW REALLY ROCKETING: We touched on this subject last month, but since then prices of food have increased again hitting millions of low income homes, pensioners and those on benefits. It is a sure thing the supermarket tills will be showing this increases now or very soon. These price increases have already outstripped the £3.40 or 3.9 per cent increase in the basic state pension due in April 2008.

Freak weather, droughts in 2006, floods in 2007, vegetables, wheat, milk, dairy products, bread, feed crops such as maize and soya , chicken, pork and the increasing cost of fuel and transport services has lead to the average overall increase of 12% with an annual rate of increase of 6.6 per cent to look forward to.

20: CONSERVATIVES WANT TO STOP SCOTTISH FUNDING: We featured recently the cost to the English economy of the free provision of NHS prescriptions, care and nursing in Scotland. Whilst we have every respect to the Scottish people and their wonderful country, there does appear to be some unfairness in the way that these payments are structured via the ‘Barnett Formula’.

If the Conservative ever return to power, they intend to see how the formula can be used to guarantee the Scots lower levels of public English funding. The Scottish MP’s can vote in the UK parliament on matters that affect only the English. English MP’s cannot vote in Scotland so the whole issue appears to be quirky. David Cameron says that “is is essential that we seek out answers to any unfairness in the English/Scottish Union of accountability, justice or democracy”.

Remember, Scotland has its own parliament where it acts in a similar way as the UK Parliament with elected representatives to deal with Scottish issues only and is funded to a high level by England. House of Commons MP’s cannot vote in the Scottish Parliament but the Scottish MP’s can vote in the English Parliament. Who ever negotiated the Barnett Formula representing the Scots won a could deal whilst the English end have lost out.

21: HIP, HIP, HIP - BOO: All properties put up for sale in England and Wales will from December 14 2007 need a Home Information Pack (HIP), even though they are full of holes, untrustworthy and misleading according to the Conservative Party. The rule, which came into force at midnight on the 14th December 2007, extends the new selling process, which was applied first to larger properties during the summer. HIPS are supposed to improve the sale of homes by cutting purchasers' costs and by giving buyers an energy rating for the property but fails to provide information concerning whether the property is subject to flooding, any nuisances from local licensed premises and there is no building survey to highlight any defects. Critics says the packs are a waste of money and are holding back sales.

Since the introduction of HIP packs, housing sales have slumped slightly to its lowest level since 1998. The packs includes searches of nearby planning applications and a certificate giving the property an energy efficiency rating and incidentally these searches lose their validity last for three months.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said spreading HIPS to smaller properties would drive even more first-time buyers from the market. "Our research shows they knock speculative sellers from the market," said a RICS spokesman. "Twenty per cent of people put their homes on the market with no initial intention of selling, but then half of them change their minds when they get a good offer. "Hips will put an end to that and shrink the market," he argued. The packs cost between £300 and £350 each and are paid for by the seller.

The HIP’s story is a chequered one, on then off and then back on a again, more back peddling in August 2007, then just only three bed roomed houses and now all properties, 1,2,3,4 5, etc. bedroom properties now must have a HIP pack which the seller pays for.

HOT NEWS: CARERS ALLOWANCE MAY BE REPLACED: There is a call to replace the carer's allowance as the allowance is too complex and should be replaced with a single benefit for people unable to work for any reason, a think tank says. The allowance is designed to help those caring for relatives for more than 35 hours a week, but the Institute for Public Policy Research says it can be hard to claim, with 43% of those entitled to it - some 350,000 people - not receiving it. The government has said it was committed to helping carers. The report proposed a new single benefit would replace carer's allowance, income support, jobseeker's allowance, and employment and support allowance. Claimants would have to fulfil certain conditions negotiated with their personal adviser. In return they would be asked about their needs and motivation to work in the future and be offered personalised support.

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