why I wont be #beddingout

I have read and seen Liz Crows wonderful #beddingout on twitter and on roaring girl. It is amazing and I applaud her and anyone else who feels able to join in. The reasons are justfied and I agree that there is a weird interplay between private and public lives for disabled people. It is a big step to invite people in to your private world, and one that I don't think I could do, at least not very well. I too have this private and public life going on and its something that I am currently struggling with. This is the topic of my blog.

I use my impairment where I can as a political tool, as with my disability. They are both there and are intertwined with each other in an inseparable way. However, If I were to come out as disabled, which is, in a lot of ways what bedding out is all about then it has to be into a world that would understand me. And I am scared that we are not there yet.

When only the other day I was attacked for daring to shop in marks and spencers to get ready meals, and the attacker was a disabled person, and demanded to know several times about WHY I needed those meals from that specific place it made me question once again how much of my private life I am willing to share.

When that same person attacked me again for not justifying my need of the single seat on the bus then it just made it worse. I use these examples, where i  have been oppressed on the bus, or where i have specific needs to highlight that different people have different needs and those needs are complex and difficult to understand. I do not expect people to attack me for my access needs and demand explanations for them, especially not disabled people. There should be a level of acceptance, and well, politelness. If I show you one part of how I life I am not opening the floodgates to be asked more detailed and personal questions, I am just showing you.

I have to write for the government why I need those things, but I think thats a discussion between me and them, with a specified purpose, to enable me to live some sort of a life. I guess I am lucky in that I can keep my disabled life hidden, because, in the main my impairment is also hidden.

there are many things that happened yesterday that might be better to reflect on, so I apologise for concentrating this blog on something that happened to me personally and not national news.

I blog, a lot. Sometimes its a blog of links to a certain topic, like spartacus or the day the DLA died etc. and then sometimes its my own thoughts on a particular issue. I posted one of the later types a few weeks ago. I don't know if you remember the theme on the news that particular day, after all one benefit attack seems to roll into another. It was highlighting the apparent need for crisis loans (and hopefully according to some all benefits) to be paid by food voucher. I perhaps, wrongly used a conversation that was had on facebook to highlight the point that the general public can't see the difference, and indeed even some campaigners can't.

Anyways, anonymised conversation and blog was up and nothing more thought about it until yesterday when one of the participants in the discussion found the blog through my twitter and seemingly waived their right to anonymity through various attacks through my twitter.

What I wanted to reflect on, well a few things really. The first is how, even amongst the disabled peoples community there is animosity, jealousy and hatred at how other people chose to live their lives. Having to justify your own access needs to anyone is hard enough, having to explain to another disabled person why you do things in a certain way is pretty inexcusable. Just because I do things differently, doesn't make it wrong, it just is different and right for me. Asking me why I have those needs, or indeed anyone is just plain rude. I expect it from some quarters. A few months ago the dentist refused to believe that i couldnt have my teeth out 'normally' until theyd witnessed the sheer terror and panic for themselves. To hear another disabled person question my own needs is just wrong.

Another thought I had was about my right to blog what I want to. I enjoy being controversial. It provokes reaction, debate, engagement. Yesterdays reaction surprised me, because if you believe something that strongly then surely you shouldn't be hiding that opinion, but be proud of it and not afraid of having it? I will continue to post whatever I want to, I will continue to anonymise anything i use, but I will not stop posting something that might offend someone. Why? because I hope that if it offends you that you take a moment to consider why it does before simply switching off or starting a pointless argument. I stand by the phrase that I might not agree with your opinion, but i will defend to the death your right to say it.

the day DLA died.. (links blog)

starting a links blog because theres a lot of coverage about this and it seemed apt.

George Osborne: I'm in tune with country on welfare

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22059630

Disability Living Allowance replaced by PIP scheme

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22058059

Claims for disability benefit have more than doubled in some parts of the country as people scramble to 'get ahead' of a tough new regime coming into force today.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2305556/Last-minute-rush-avoid-tough-new-test-disability-benefit.html

Carolyn Hitt: George Osborne Magor disabled parking row underlines Government disability welfare cuts

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/columnists/2013/04/08/carolyn-hitt-george-osborne-magor-disabled-parking-row-underlines-government-disability-welfare-cuts-91466-33130869/

Iain Duncan Smith defends disability benefit reforms

http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/iain-duncan-smith-defends-disability-benefit-reforms-1-2882442

Disabled reforms are 'common sense'

http://www.standard.co.uk/panewsfeeds/disabled-reforms-are-common-sense-8563683.html

Under-fire Atos begins disability tests

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7d7606e4-9f61-11e2-b4b6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2PrBg7BTN

Disability reforms come into force

http://www.itn.co.uk/UK/73060/disability-reforms-come-into-force

Disability payment changes begin

Iain Duncan Smith faces angry protests as disability living allowance is replaced by personal independence payments

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/08/disability-payment-changes-begin

Disabled not supported by change, says Disability Wales

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22054342

ITV News: replacement of DLA with PIP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx_Z-10CeDc&feature=youtu.be&a

Benefit changes aimed at 'understanding disability'

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-04-08/benefit-changes-aimed-at-understanding-disability/

The DLA is what made me able to work – what will I do without it?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/07/disability-living-allowance-able-to-work

New disability benefit system introduced

(AFP)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gJ5fuJo531SLx83KoaioWyLkOlbg?docId=CNG.01327912b1387b60be47 e9704ed1883.161

New welfare row as 600,000 are set to come off disability benefit

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9976558/New-welfare-row-as-600000-are-set-to-come-off-disability-benefit.html

The tyranny of the 20 metre test: Atos presides over hated change in disability benefit

http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2013/04/08/the-tyranny-of-the-20-metre-test-atos-presides-over-hated-ch

Disability Benefits: New System Rolled Out

http://news.sky.com/story/1075119/disability-benefits-new-system-rolled-out

Stephen Duckworth: 'The new disability benefit is enabling'

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/05/stephen-duckworth-new-disability-benefit

media clips from latent existence..
http://www.latentexistence.me.uk/replacement-of-dla-with-pip-in-the-news-08042013/


Minister defends changes to disability payments
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/uk-politics-video/9978521/Minister-defends-changes-to-disability-payments.html

Nick Clegg defends disability benefit reforms - video

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2013/apr/08/nick-clegg-disability-benefit-reform-video

Ed Miliband criticises reforms to disability benefits - video

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2013/apr/08/ed-miliband-reforms-disability-benefits-video

Disability benefit changes: Case studies

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22067379

Three disabled claimants launch legal action against new mobility tests

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/08/disabled-claimants-legal-action-mobility-tests

The move from DLA to PIP: Controversial Government plans take effect

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9978820/The-move-from-DLA-to-PIP-Controversial-Government-plans-take-effect.html

Paralympian Sophie Christiansen reveals fear of disability benefit changes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/uk-politics-video/9978422/Paralympian-Sophie-Christiansen-reveals-fear-of-disability-benefit-changes.html

'Rush for benefits' ahead of reform

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/rush-for-benefits-ahead-of-reform-29180391.html

Are disability benefits enough?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22062114

How will changes to disability benefit affect you?

http://www.itv.com/news/2013-04-08/how-will-changes-to-disability-benefit-affect-you/

Your view: Disability allowance plan means new checks
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/22062434

Disability benefit reform: what is PIP and why is it controversial?

 http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/uk-austerity/52354/disability-benefit-reform-pip-explained-iain-duncan-smith

Benefit changes are 'evil' says disabled pensioner

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Benefit-changes-are-evil-says-disabled-pensioner-20130408145450.htm

Government minister Esther McVey’s untrue claims about Disability Living Allowance

 http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18291

Esther McVey, minister for disabled people, defends benefit changes

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22061796

 Disability benefit shake-up begins

 http://www.onmedica.com/newsarticle.aspx?id=a2c02621-625e-4da3-a45c-b4eec0433cd8

Iain Duncan Smith: People Are 'Rushing To Claim DLA Disability Benefits To Avoid New PIP Health Checks'

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/08/iain-duncan-smith-dla-pip-petition-_n_3035836.html?utm_hp_ref=uk?ncid=GEP 


Disability benefit claims soar to beat Iain Duncan Smith's new checks
 http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/390181/Disability-benefit-claims-soar-to-beat-Iain-Duncan-Smith-s-new-checks

Disabled benefit claimants flooding welfare system to 'get ahead' of test, warns Iain Duncan Smith
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/9978231/Disabled-benefit-claimants-flooding-welfare-system-to-get-ahead-of-test-warns-Iain-Duncan-Smith.html

if you have any more please let me know.. thanks

why i read the daily mail..

this week, as most people know the headline grabbing most peoples attention from the mail was 'vile product of welfare uk'. People on twitter were up in arms and calling for people to boycott the paper. As I did my daily read of the site I somehow felt that I was doing something wrong, and perhaps should have turned on private browsing or similar.

I want to blog about why I read the mail, and do so on a regular basis. I don't buy the paper, but then I don't buy any newspaper, preferring it on line. The first reason is quite simple, I am studying disability studies at university. I am really interested in welfare reform and I love reading about it in the media. I don't discriminate and when I find an article in one paper I look at it in all of them. It provides me with a balance of views and opinions that help to construct my own argument. How can I argue against what the mail thinks without first reading it and understanding their point of view?

Sometimes I feel like an enemy spy when I read the mail, and I do it so other people dont have to. In fact, thats what my twitter feed is now pretty much. I subscribe to some feeds that I created around welfare reform and I link to them on twitter. I dont agree with them, but I think it helps to have them there, after all this is what some people think. We need to have a right of free press, otherwise ironically there will just be more papers like the mail and less like the guardian.

Trying to link reading the mail or any other right wing type media to being a right wing thinker and politician is as tenuous as the link the mail and the government are trying to make with welfare and the recent story in the paper where 6 children lost their lives at the hands of a very nasty person. What you choose to read doesn't make you change your perspective or make you into a different person. It is, purely and simply a newspaper, or article which has some opinions in it that are sometimes designed to provoke a reaction. nothing more.

I know that disability hate crime is going up, and I know its in part due to the media rhetoric surrounding disability and welfare. But, as I am learning from my dissertation, that doesn't exist in isolation. It has to have come from somewhere, and in this case its usually the government. Reading this news, although it might seem somewhat evil to do so is actually important. Finding out what the mail thinks, and what the right wing press thinks is important. It is being fed from the government and learning what it is we are fighting is important.

so I will continue to read the mail, and the guardian, and the telegraph and the independent and any other news source that I find. It wont make me into a bad person.

Its not the changes that are biting..

Ok, so I guess I am relatively 'well off' in benefit cut terms. But I haven't completely escaped, but its the little things that I have noticed that will really bite people, not even related to wefare.

The buses went up by 10p on monday. Not much to some, but when you are on a limited budget, it can mean one less journey a week, and making stark choices about how much you can get around.

I'v noticed the price of foods slowly creeping up. There's less offers around and its getting harder to buy food for the week with 20 pounds.

My heatings gone up too, but at least its april and its not too cold to be sitting without the heat on all day. A few months ago there wasn't any choice, the heat neede to be on all day, because I live in a cold flat.

Its not the benefit cuts that are biting, its the cumulative effect of the fact that the 50-60 pounds people are left with every week are buying them less and that they are having to spend some of that on the basic human need of housing. I can't see this getting any easier.

Bus Pass problems

I sit at the front of the bus, so i often hear the conversations that the bus driver has with other passengers and other snippets of information. The conversation I overheard tonight concerned me, and I thought I should blog about it to raise awareness and see what others think about the situation?

A man got on the bus with a disabled persons bus pass. In south yorkshire they are smart passes so have to be scanned on entry to the bus. He explained that last night his snapped and so he had tried to selotape it as best he could. he was obviously anxious and worried about the use of his pass. As he explained to the driver it was clearly him and it was clearly in date.

The bus driver was adamant that the pass should be confiscated and that the man needed to go to get a new one from the bus station. After some back and forward the driver allowed him to keep it and let him on. The same conversation happened again as he got off the bus because he was now really distressed at the thought of his pass being taken off him. I know I would be, its my lifeline. Not only that, its sunday and bank holiday tomorrow, so nothing will be open, he then has to wait 4 days to get a new one. here are my list of concerns about this.

1) Is this actually policy? should the bus driver be threatening to take clearly valid passes off clearly vulnerable people?

2) If the bus driver had confiscated it then the guy would have had to pay the replacement fee, if he had gone in with it damaged it would be free.

3) what should happen in the mean time? There is currently no temporary solution, and although people might argue its only a few days, it is a lifeline. These passes are for people who (like me) can not drive because of health related reasons. It often is the difference between going out and not going out.

4) I wonder if the bus company would have given a refund if the man was forced to pay, or cared if he didnt get on the bus and something happened to him because of it.

My concern is that the driver clearly said this was policy, but this has no consideration of the clear needs of some of the passengers who use these passes have when using the bus. If this is policy, to confiscate and refuse entry to disabled people with broken or damaged passes that are still clearly in date then it needs changing.

Carers allowance and PIP

Next week the new personal independence payment trials start. Although I have seen, and been involved in some of the campaigning around this I have yet to see one theme being covered. Carers.

Carers are the hidden workforce that the government employs for 50 pounds a week to support disabled people in receipt of higher or middle rate care DLA. This, of course saves the government a whole lot of money, as they don't need to bring in external providers to support disabled people. In fact, as a disabled person myself, I wasn't given the choice as to who cared for me when I needed it, it was a family member or no one. Carers allowance went some way to cushioning the financial impact of this drastic change in circumstances.

For those who dont know Disability living Allowance is seen as a passported benefit. In that, when in reciept of DLA, it entitles you to other things. I have a cinema discount, a bus pass and a coachcard thanks to my DLA. It provides society with an easy label ie. DLA= Disabled person.

So, how will this change under PIP? I went to my trusted friend google and found these:
www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-briefing-passporting.pdf

In this document it highlights the passporting effect of DLA and the aims to bring it forward into PIP, especially in relation to carers allowance. That was in 2011.

www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-briefing-carers-allowance.pdf

In this document from 2013, things seem to have changed. In this table it shows that ten thousand carers will no longer be entitled to the allowance. My question is, what will happen to those 10,000 disabled people who previously needed middle or higher rate levels of care. They wont get better, or not be in need of it because the governement stops the allowance. They will still need this, and surely it will have to come from somewhere? Have the government forgotten about this cheap labour source they have? Changing these people from disabled people into 'non disabled people' is pretty easy on paper. It only takes a change of entitlement. However in real life, these people, and the needs they have are still there, and will presumably need to be met from somwhere?