Jun/090
Narcolepsy and Disability Allowance
Narcolepsy is a disorder of the brain that makes sufferers extremely sleepy during the daytime and anxious during the night time. It can even cause sleep walking. The condition can be mild, or it can be severe where it affects your everyday life.
The type of severity will depend on whether you are entitled to Disability Living Allowance.
If you are entitled to DLA, you could be entitled to other benefits such as income support, housing and council tax benefits. To see if you are entitled to any of the Benefits contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau and they will happily advise you of your rights and entitlements. Alternatively please see: Consumer Rights for further information on consumer rights.
Jun/090
No Attendance Allowance for Care Home Residents
Pensioners living in care homes are being denied any attendance allowance because decision makers are confusing NHS Nursing Care Contribution with fully funded NHS Continuing Care. Oder people who are thinking of self-funding care to get advice from the NHFA.
Jun/090
Disability Allowance Scam
A man who claimed £17,000 of disability living allowance between 1994 and 2005, and £43,000 of incapacity benefit between 1996 and 2005 has walked away from court with a suspended jail sentence. The man, who claimed that it taken him 10 minutes to walk 50 yards and suffered from limited movement, was not only a pall bearer at a funeral, he was a bowls club president and had just opened his own taxi firm.
He was convicted of six counts relating to false claims of disability living allowance and incapacity benefit.
Jun/090
Pregnant Women Receiving Child Benefit?
The Government have launched a £60million scheme to help ‘mothers-to-be’. The scheme called “Sure Start” is set to help mothers with health advice and support when baby is born. And now the Government are thinking about paying child benefit for pregnant women after their 12 week scan.
Research has shown that heavier born babies are usually cleverer and achieve more than those who are born with a low weight, and that low weight babies were more susceptible to illness later on in life.
By paying expectant mothers from their 12 week scan onwards the Government is hoping to promote healthy, balanced children and parents.
Jun/090
Child Benefit going abroad
Research shows that more and more East Europeans are receiving British Benefits, even when they are in their own country.
It is estimated that over £1million a month, of taxpayer’s money, in child benefits are going to mothers in countries like Poland. This has obviously riled the British and caused a lot of controversy over Britons paying for children who live in another country, and are highly unlikely to ever so much as visit Britain. Also, these benefits are handed out without even checking to see if the children being claimed for exist.
This is because if one of the parents is working in Britain it means that the family are entitled to benefits such as child benefits and family tax credits. Also, British Benefits are substantially higher than in Eastern Europe. Obviously, this is attracting more and more migrant workers into Britain. This and the fact that it is advertised in the Polish papers sold abroad and in Britain how easy it is to get British Benefits.
Many Poles get work through Employment agencies who have migrants on their books. These agencies advise them on how to claim benefits, and what they are entitled to. So is it any wonder that more and more British jobs are going to migrants? How ridiculous!
Jun/090
MP’s Expenses – The story so far
Around the time when the fierce debate and inquiry into the Gurkhas’ rights was in full swing, the Prime Minister’s director of communications, already up to his neck dealing with requests from the media, received a phone call from The Daily Telegraph. In the very short phone call a request for a secure email direct to the Prime Minister was made. Within minutes Gordon Brown received a letter about expense claims to his inbox and it was at that moment that politics would change forever.
Information on these expense claims was released under the Freedom of Information Act in early June 2009 but for ’security reasons’ specific details of second home claims were deleted meaning that speculation and rumours started to grow and served only to fan the flames of suspicion. The worst possible cases of abusing the system would remain hidden from public view for the time being.
Despite Mr. Brown being confident that his own expense discrepancies could be fully explained, it was clear that, for his fellow MP’s who had been concerned over constant rumours about expense receipts for months now, the situation would be much grimmer.
The crucial question for him was just how many of his own MPs – and how many members of the Government – were about to be caught out.
One by one the Prime Minister received phone calls about ministers who were about to be embarrased – Hazel Blears, Alistair Darling, and Geoff Hoon were to become the focus of the “flipping” scandal. “Flipping” was the term given by The Telegraph to the way in which MP’s would change the details of their second home in order to avoid making payments on both of their homes.
In some light-hearted relief from the public’s anger over the expenses, The Telegraph reported that John Prescott – once labelled the ‘Pie Eater’ had claimed the maximum allowed for food each year and had claimed for 2 toilet seats to be repaired in the space of two years.
Other news stories began creeping onto our screens as the expenses scandal showed small signs of abating but it wasn’t to last. The Telegraph hit us with the Justice Minister Shahid Malik’s receipts for £66,000 on his second home while renting a consituancy home of a crook. Malik appeared on Sky News to protest his innocence claiming he was “one million per cent” within the boundaries of the rules but Gordon Brown had already made up his mind – he had to go.
YOU the consumer/tax payer are footing the bill. The story continues…
Jun/090
Think about your future
More and more people are considering what will happen once they lose mental capacity in old age. Once this is considered, most people know that without an agreement in place their financial and health matters are no longer in their hands.
Research shows that 3 times more people are now registering their Lasting Power of Attorneys; and also applying to the Court of Protection for finance or health and welfare decisions and concerns about a deputy or attorney.
The large volume of people taking steps to ensure their rights is due to the Mental Capacity Act being introduced, and people considering their future.
Jun/090
Eurotunnel in Debt
The operators of the Eurotunnel are in debt talks over the £6.2bn debt. It has applied to the Court of Protection for protection from creditors, and has also asked a French Court to freeze the debts to something can be resolved.
The courts have yet to come to a decision, but the Eurotunnel is still working as normal.
Jun/090
NHS in Trouble?
The NHS has long received negative press about care and continuing care responsibilities. There have been heated debates since the NHS started out, because there is no outline as to what social care is and what health care is.
Since the 2003 report there has been a clear outline on NHS continuing care, this being that there is a single set of criteria for an area and that some patients can appeal by way of writing to the SHA if they are struck off.
This new report is hoped to bring some form of peace treaty where the NHS and continuing care are concerned.
Jun/090
Continuing Healthcare
Research has shown that people in one area are more likely to get continuing healthcare than people in another area.
This is all about to change according to the Government. They are bringing in a new order that is to be unveiled in June that will “standardise decisions on who is eligible”
Continuing healthcare mainly applies to people in nursing homes so is unfair to allow one postcode more likely to receive healthcare than others, so this new order is set to improve healthcare nationwide and allow people a fairer service.
 |
 |
