Exclude Vulnerable Severe & Enduring Mental Health Sufferers from DLA Assessments in 2013

Exclude ALL Severe and Enduring Mental Health Sufferers from the DLA Assessments in 2013 for the following Mental Health conditions. This vulnerable group will be hugely disadvantaged and won't have a voice to represent themselves at the assessment, yet they can come across as well to a person who does not know them, many believe they are not ill, which disadvantages them further! Being forced to work when they can't cope will increase homelessness and suicides amongst our most vulnerable mentally ill due to loss of housing benefits and other benefits, it will push many over the edge!

Please exclude Complex Mental Health Conditions,(many suffer from a combination of all of these conditions below), including my own son!

Paranoid Schizophrenia Dual Diagnosis Personality Disorder

Please protect this extremely vulnerable client group who suffer from a lifelong unpredictable condition that will not get better as there is no cure, and even with ongoing treatment do relapse.

The Government is absolutely committed to supporting disabled people, and is determined that support should be focused on people who need it most. We want to enable disabled people to have the same opportunities and choices as non-disabled people.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) started to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64 from April 2013. PIP maintains the key principles of DLA: it is a non-means-tested cash benefit available to people in and out of work, but is delivered in a fairer and more consistent manner. Key to the benefit is a more objective assessment of individual need, which looks at the claimant’s ability to carry out a range of activities which are fundamental to living an independent life, such as planning and following journeys and communicating with others.

We now have a better understanding of the needs of individuals with mental health conditions, autism, learning difficulties, and sensory impairments, and have designed PIP to reflect a modern understanding of disability, treating all conditions fairly. By focusing on claimants’ ability to carry out a series of key everyday activities the assessment criteria reflect a more complete consideration of the impact of an individual’s health condition or impairment, whether physical, sensory, mental or cognitive. This ensures that fair account is taken of the impact of all impairment types, that the benefit is fairer, and that money is targeted at those who need it most – those who face the greatest barriers to leading full, active and independent lives.