Severely disabled people forced into dire financial circumstances.
With our help client wins significant benefit arrears.
Still not working. Chronic arthritis led to our client* Katy’s redundancy on health grounds in July 2015. In her mid-40s, she had been employed without a break from age 17. She has pain in her neck, back, shoulders and arms and numbness that extends to her fingers. She wears a back and neck brace and walks with […]
Problems persist despite changes. Assessment for Personal Independence Payment is still causing financial and emotional distress. There have been efforts to try to make things easier. Last month the government announced improved transitional arrangements to give people more time to appeal against loss of Motability payment. Yet the number of requests for advice shows no sign of falling. In the […]
Disability benefits reform. “More personalised” work capability assessments are promised by work and pensions secretary Damian Green. The reform is expected in a DWP Green Paper along with other measures to help people with disabilities into work. The announcement is a welcome response to campaigning by Citizens Advice and others. At CA Reigate & Banstead we’ve strongly backed the call for change. In […]
Callous crime. Disabled people who rely on special parking zones are increasingly falling victim to a crime that can leave them house-bound and isolated. Government figures* profiled last month show theft of blue parking badges almost tripled in a year. Some 2.4 million people use blue badges allocated by local authorities. Thieves steal the badges […]
Latest News. Disabled people in Surrey have a great advocate in the Surrey Coalition. Higher charges for adult social care, NHS information standards, mental health updates, comprehensive member news – all this and much more in the new issue of Coalition News. Lots of newsletters claim to be “packed with information”. This one really is (without […]
Left out. People who are disabled or have a health condition are far less likely to be in work than non-disabled people in good health. Across England and Wales, just 49% of those who are disabled or have a health condition are in work. For everyone else this figure is 80% . This is a problem that has […]
Easier and faster. Good news for those who depend on special parking. Surrey County Council is working on a new online system to make it easier and faster to apply for, or renew, a Blue Badge permit. At Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead we’re particularly pleased. Our research and campaigns team member Louise Tennuci has […]
PIP assessment puts college course on hold. Our client’s daughter is a determined young woman. She is autistic but doing well in her college course with a full attendance record. A PIP assessment has put this on-hold by reducing her benefit. She used her payments for taxi fares to and from college. If she travels […]