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longbow

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  1. Hi, I am very concerned about the benefit reforms in the UK, I live in France and claim my benefits from the UK. I was told that there was someone fighting the reforms on the behalf of the disability community in France, does anyone know who this may be please? The reforms are going to affect thousands of us and I need to know where i stand.
  2. Hi If you sign the campaign, you get an e-mail thanking you for joining it. I along with some friends are contacting everyone we can think of to stop this as it will affect millions of people. according to benefits and work, in the first 24 hours they have had an overwhelming response to the campaign. 5000 plus people have signed up so far. I for one cannot afford to lose my benefits. regards.
  3.   Hi I apologise in advance but as this is a genuine post, I think it is important that everyone sees it and signs the campaign which is at the link below, if that link doesn't work, it should direct you to a new page. As the original webpage has changed, here is the correct link. http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance-(dla)/dla-aa-cuts Hi Folks First let me apologise for sending this very off topic mail, but as many of the members here are disabled in one way or another, I felt it only right that you should read this, and if it doesn't apply to you, it will apply to someone you know, so please don't disregard it before reading it first. The reason for my haste is that I didn't want to waste any time in making people aware whats going on behind closed doors. Below is a very disturbing email that was sent to me today from Benefits & Work, a site Sally and myself joined several years ago, and have found very helpful and informative concerning benefits, and your entitlement to them etc. How many of you are getting D L A or Attendance Allowance? A few I would guess. In November a paper is going to be put forward to abolish D L A and A A and put the money into the pockets of the local authorities to be used to pay for services. I for one, am appauled at this, millions of disabled and elderly people will not only be far worse of, they will loose their independance, and will never get the level of care that many of them need and deserve. Another question, how many of you knew about this proposal? Not very many I guess, that is why most people get their benefits cut or taken of them. They are never given prior notice to the papers being submitted, so no one can oppose them. But now we can do something to help, and this is where you come in. One thousand individuals are needed before Benefits & Work can take this forward. and act on behalf of disabled people around Great Britain and the U. K. THE MORE THE BETTER!! Simply click on this link http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance- <http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance-> (dla)/dla-aa-cuts and submit your first name and email address. That's it. So once you have signed it, send it on, as I said, the more, the better. Thanks for taking the time to read this. If there is a problem with the link let me know. P.S. as well as sending this to evryone in my address book, I've just contacted local media and the owners of several mailing lists i'm a member of; can i suggest all people living in the UK do the same; you want local radio, TV and newspapers, oh, and i've also sent it to my MP, try that as well. Send it to anyone you can and lets give the people at benefits and work the support they need to oppose these changes, which will if implimented, cause hardship for tens of thousands of people living in the uk, many of them may be in your own family circle. David Caldwell. Origional mailing follows. Dear Subscriber, Claimants have just 100 days to prevent their DLA and AA being abolished. A government green paper has revealed proposals to stop paying 'disability benefits, for example, attendance allowance'' and hand the cash over to social services instead. Under the plan, current claimants would have their disability benefits converted to a 'personal budget' administered by local authorities and used to pay for services - not to spend as they wish. Once the green paper consultation period ends in 100 days time, if an almighty row has not been raised, it is likely that both major political parties will see the lack of outrage as a green light to end both DLA and AA. We're looking for a minimum of 1,000 claimants, carers and support workers to join our campaign to save these benefits from being abolished. Find out how you can take part from this link: http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance- <http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance-> (dla)/dla-aa-cuts We know that many people will take false comfort from the fact that, unlike AA, DLA is not specifically named as being for the axe. But if the government was planning only to abolish AA it is extremely unlikely that they would refer constantly throughout the green paper to 'disability benefits', a term which includes not just AA but also DLA. Others will dismiss this as just another idle discussion document and our concerns as scare mongering. But it's much more than that. 36 meetings have already been organised around the country for people working in government and the caring professions to meet to be told about the setting up of a new National Care Service which would oversee the system. In addition, a stakeholders panel of more than 50 voluntary sector organisations, trades unions and academics has been established to offer advice to the government. Some organisations and individuals, such as RNIB and welfare rights worker Neil Bateman writing for Community Care magazine, have already voiced their alarm. But not every disability organisation is opposed to the proposals and some even agree with them. In a press release, Disability Alliance has welcomed the publication of the green paper and said that it 'looks forward to working alongside Government and all the other stakeholders in bringing these plans into fruition.' They have even said that they agree that there is a case for 'integrating disability benefits such as attendance allowance' into the new system. One thing everyone does seem to agree on is that huge cuts in public spending will have to take place in the next few years as a result of the credit crunch and global recession. Political parties are desperately looking for the softest targets to be the victims of these cuts. Dismissing the green paper's proposals as hot air and not worth worrying about could be the costliest mistake you ever make. Find out more about the proposed abolition of DLA and AA and how you can join our campaign to fight back: http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance- <http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/disability-living-allowance-> (dla)/dla-aa-cuts Good luck, Steve Donnison PLEASE NOTE: THE REPLY TO ADDRESS ON THIS NEWSLETTER JUST COLLECTS HUNDREDS OF AUTOREPLIES. If you have problems accessing the site or logging in, visit the Help with the site page, where you can find possible solutions and contact details for our technical support. (c) 2009 Steve Donnison. All rights reserved.
  4. Hi I am new to this forum. I have recently moved to France, and I am severely disabled and have been for most of my life. I checked into the benefits side of things thoroughly before I came over. I, like some of you, have also been left high and dry and left without much money each month, how do they expect people to live particularly as prices and the cost of living are constantly increasing? They told me that my benefits (DLA and SDA) and my care allowance were definitely exportable, they didn't say anything about it being suspended for a long time, Which they have done.  I have been told that it could be up to a year before they come to a decision as to how people in receipt of DLA are to be paid, as the EU have not informed them (DWP)as to how they are to actually go aboutpaying it. This is not true.It's passing the buck, the Europa team have told me that the UK Government is breaking Europeanlaw, and have no right to suspend anyone's benefit, simply for the fact that they have moved to a member EU state.   I have made a few enquiries, I e-mailed the exportability team at the DWP but I have not had any response up to now, which doesn’t surprise me! Last week I telephoned the helpline on the Europa website and told them the situation and you may be interested in their written reply which I have posted below. Apart from this, I don't know what else I can do, perhaps you have some other ideas. I just hope it isn't too long before they sort this out. I have not even had anything in writing to say that my benefit has been stopped, they could at least do that, they just stopped it and my Carer's Allowance without notice, my carer is here with me in France too, it doesn't cost much to send a letter does it?  Regards Longbow   REPLY FROM EUROPA Thank you for this enquiry. As you will already know, the EU comprises an area in which the free movement of EU citizens is assured. This freedom of movement is supported by the right to receive social welfare benefits throughout the EU. The rules relating to social welfare have been regulated, to a limited extent, by the EU. You can find out more by reading about Regulation 1408/71 at the following website: http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10516.htm The rules relating to social security in respect of certain kinds of benefit, including invalidity benefit may not be subject to reduction on the basis of residence in another member state. This is subject to certain rules. The ECJ in case C-299/05 (Commission of the European Communities v the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union) held that the UK had wrongly categorised Disability Living Allowance as not being exportable. Only the mobility component of DLA was not exportable under those rules. The UK is currently revising its rules for DLA: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/FinancialSupport/Introductiontofinancialsupport/DG_073387 You should write, in the first instance, to the relevant authority in the UK: Exportability Co-ordinator, Room B120D, Pension, Disability and Carers Service, Warbreck House, Warbreck Hill Road, FY2 0YE [email protected] If your claim is rejected we would recommend that you contact: your nearest Citizen's Advice Bureau in the UK or the Child Poverty Action Group advice lines: +44 (0)20 - 7833 4627 Monday to Friday, 2.00 - 4.00 p.m. Alternatively, you can contact our sister organisation, SOLVIT, which may be able to assist. The Citizen’s Signpost Service has examined your enquiry and considers that the matter could be dealt with by the SOLVIT system. SOLVIT is an informal network to resolve problems caused by the misapplication of EU rules by public authorities in another Member State. There is a SOLVIT centre in every European Union Member State (as well as in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). SOLVIT centres are part of the national administrations and are committed to providing real solution to problems within 10 weeks. The use of SOLVIT is free of charge. You can submit your case to SOLVIT by (1) Clicking on the link below entitled "I wish to sent my case to SOLVIT" And then (2) Completing the additional information requested And lastly (3) Clicking on the "Send to SOLVIT" button Your case will be automatically be transferred to the relevant SOLVIT centre If you do not wish to submit your case to SOLVIT now, you can of course submit it to SOLVIT at any time in the future. To submit your case to SOLVIT later you should take direct contact with your local SOLVIT <http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/site/ index_en.htm>  centre. Disclaimer On the basis of the information available, the Citizen Signpost Service has suggested that your case could be dealt with SOLVIT. However, the advice from the Citizen Signpost Service is of a non-contractual nature only and does not in any way guarantee that SOLVIT will agree to deal with or resolve your case. It is the responsibility of the SOLVIT centre(s) to decide whether they will accept to handle your case. SOLVIT will inform you on the decisions and outcomes of the case. The advice given by the Signpost Service legal experts is independent advice and shall not be considered to be the opinion of the European Commission. As such it will not in anyway bind the Commission. Note: To post another enquiry, please visit the Signpost Service Web Site <http://ec.europa.eu/citizensrights/front_end/signpost_en.cfm>  or contact EUROPE DIRECT <http://ec.europa.eu/europedirect/> .
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