Do you qualify for the Winter Wellbeing Scheme?

What can be provided:

• Provide free advice on cold, damp and mould to vulnerable people.

• Home visits to deliver energy advice in the home to vulnerable people.

• Provide hygrometers and thermo cards to support behaviour change.

• Assist householders with applications for heating and insulation grants.

• Handling requests from partners and members of the public for Winter Wellbeing Guides.

Support for over 50s

 • In home assessments to identify the measures and services needed to help an individual lead an independent life, e.g.:

- Care and support services (home help, personal shopper, meals on wheels, benefit entitlements, advocacy)

- Home improvements (handrails, mobility aids)

• Signposting service based on the requirements identified though the assessment.

Support for householders having problems paying energy bills

• The Winter Wellness Fund is an emergency fund to provide emergency help with warmth to reduce preventable winter deaths.

Grants of up £500 for individuals in severe need. Examples of grants include:

- Oil delivery (if household cannot afford, and health factors exist) – only for orders of 500 litres. It is essential to provide details of supplier and cost on grant application form.

- Restart heating system (e.g. not worked for a while, or just come out of hospital)

• Referrals should ideally come via frontline workers but can also be made by project partners providing that genuine need can be established. Complete application form provided and send to Cornwall Works.

• There are also Emergency heaters or solid fuel and Emergency keep warm boxes that can be distributed.

To qualify for the scheme:

 • Over 75 years old

• Frail

• Pre-existing cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses and other chronic medical condition (long term arthritis, diabetes)

• Severe mental illness

• Dementia

• Learning difficulties

• Arthritis, limited mobility or at risk of falls

• Young children

• Living in deprived circumstances

• Living in homes with mould

• Fuel poor (spend 10% or more of household income on heating the home)

• Elderly people living on their own

To find out more contact Donna Cooper (nee Bingham), Project Delivery Team Deputy Manager 

T: 01209 614978

E:

The Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) has been commissioned by the Government Equalities Office to replace the helpline previously run by the Equality and Human Rights Commission that covers England, Scotland and Wales.

The EASS will:

•Provide advice and guidance on discrimination and human rights issues in the following ways

•Advise on what the law says and how this applies to individuals in the country they live in

•Advise people on how a situation could be resolved informally by themselves

•Help individuals to work out if they are eligible for civil legal aid, if they are looking for a legal resolution

•Provide support in attempting to resolve issue/s informally

•Refer individuals to a conciliation or mediation service if they are unable to resolve an issue informally

•If you are not eligible for civil legal aid then EASS can help you find an accessible legal service, or assist you to represent yourself by giving you information and support on how to prepare and lodge a claim.

The EASS will not:

• Provide legal advice

•Provide information, advice and support on anything other than discrimination and human rights

•Represent you when providing pre-claim support

•Advise on the strength of your case

•Advise on what evidence is needed to prove your case

•Advise on court/sheriff court/tribunal proceedings once a claim has been issued.

EASS are happy to advise members of the public, directly, on issues relating to discrimination or human rights or alternatively organisations may wish to refer an individual to the service.

To refer a case to the EASS, all that is required is for you to contact the EASS using the details below:

T: 0808 800 0082

Text users: 0808 800 0084

Call RAD through their webcam portal athttp://www.royaldeaf.org.uk/webcam/ to speak to an adviser in BSL or text chat

www.equalityadvisoryservice.com

Address: Freepost, Equality Advisory Support Service, FPN4431

For further information about the Benefits Workshop please contact Carers Rights direct.

T. 07938155094

E.

http://www.carersrights.org.uk/

Disability Cornwall has thanked all the Cornwall Councillors who voted not to introduce the proposed change to the Council Tax Scheme, which would have meant people on low incomes who currently qualify for a 100% rebate, having to pay 25% of their charge instead.

We appreciate the tough decisions councillors are currently having to make, often dictated to them by central government, but our organisation appealed against this particular proposal due to concerns raised by our members. It demonstrates they – you, are listened to and your views do matter.

2013 is going to be a tough year as we all know, but if you feel you are being unfairly disadvantaged by a particular policy or proposal, then contact us and we will endeavour to represent your views to the service provider concerned as best as we possibly can.

T: 01736 759500

E:

Recruiting six young Disabled People's User Led Organisation (DPULO) ambassadors – nominations now open

One of the things the Strengthening the DPULO Programme is the leadership of DPULOs, both today and in the future.   

It is hoped that these ambassadors will encourage more people to get involved in DPULOs, particularly thinking about young disabled people who will go on to become the DPULO (and other) leaders of the future.

To build on the success of the DPULO Programme and continue helping DPULOs to become stronger more sustainable organisations, the Minister for Disabled People, Esther McVey MP, is keen for DPULOs and young disabled people to work together more closely and forge stronger links.

To take this forward the Minister would like to appoint six Young DPULO Ambassadors (aged 16-24 yrs) to work with DPULOs and our existing Ambassadors.

If you are a young disabled person who might be interested in this, know someone who might be interested, or your organisation’s work involves young disabled people please forward this to them and if you would like to nominate please fill in the form at the below link

http://arbitraryc.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/young-ambassador-nomination-form-final.doc

For further information please see the below website

http://arbitraryc.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/dpulo-young-ambassadors-nominations-now-open/

Please find below details of the Emergency Stop report from We Are Spartacus.  

The ‘Emergency Stop’ report analyses figures supplied by the DWP and Motability, the organisation that supplies lease cars and specialist converted vehicles to disabled people claiming the higher mobility rate of Disability Living Allowance.

The analysis estimates that, under Personal Independence Payment (PIP), 428,000 fewer working age disabled people will qualify for the higher PIP rate (which allows access to the Motability scheme) by 2018. This could lead to 160,000 fewer Motability cars on the road.

Oxford Economics’ report ‘Economic and social impact of the Motability Car Scheme’ (2010) identified the Motability scheme’s contribution to the economy through car sales, employment generation and tax receipts. The new report shows that welfare reform plans will lead to a domino effect including the loss of:

 5,692 jobs (from 21,080 jobs to 15,388 jobs in Motability-related industries)

 £544 million contribution to GDP (from around £2 billion to £1.45 billion)

 £126 million in tax receipts

It also highlights that the cost to the public purse of enabling disabled people to get to medical appointments could alone amount to about £8 million.

It’s not just disabled people who will lose out under the Government’s welfare reform plans. Changing from disability living allowance (DLA) to PIP means fewer people qualifying for Motability cars to the tune of about 50,000 fewer vehicles a year. Less demand means fewer jobs in the motor industry, a lower contribution to GDP and the exchequer, and a knock on effect on the second hand market, which also contributes to the economy.

In the meantime, disabled people will be less independent, less likely to be able to get or keep a job, more likely to give up self-employment and less able to care for their children or support other family members.

For the full report by We Are Spartacus please see the below link

http://wearespartacus.org.uk/emergency-stop/

Michael, an  ex Remploy employee who, despite having various plates and pins in his right foot and left ankle following a motorbike accident, is going to walk up Kilimanjaro in September 2013 to raise money for the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust.

If you would like to donate or support Michael please see the below link.

http://www.justgiving.com/michael-rogers42

Below is Michael story..

"My Kilimanjaro Adventure

This September 2013 I shall be taking part in an expedition which is going up Mount Kilimanjaro in an attempt to raise as much money as we can for the Cornwall Air Ambulance.

Kilimanjaro stands at 19,340 feet or 3.66 miles high and while this may be considered a mammoth task for most people it could be more so for me as I have a plate and pins in my left foot and pins in my right ankle from a motorbike accident in 2010 and I already suffered from Epillepsy thanks to a fractured skull which was the result of a cycle collision in 1984.

While I was recovering in a wheelchair  and then going through many months of physio I would not of dreamt of trying to undertake such an adventure but now I am able to do this, albeit  through a great deal of pain but I feel that this great cause is worth every step.

I am paying my own way and so ALL the money raised will be going towards keeping OUR Air Ambulance, which was the 1^st and is quite possibly the busiest, in the air and saving lives.

To donate money for this much needed cause please visit  the following link http://www.justgiving.com/michael-rogers42 , this can also be accessed directly by following the link from my Facebook page and let’s keep this much needed life saver flying."

Michael Rogers

Anticipating the publication of Professor Harrington’s third (and, for him, final) annual review of the Work Capability Assessment, the WeAreSpartacus group have published their own review, from the lived experience of the sick and disabled people going through it.

The report includes the experiences of more than 70 claimants who have been wrongly assessed, humiliated, badly treated and forced to go to tribunal to secure the benefits to which they are entitled under by law.

The review also highlights press reports of some of the claimants who have died after being found fit for work or whose suicide has been linked, at least in part, to the stress of a process which is essentially abusive, demeaning and not fit for purpose.

This section includes full references, including replies to Freedom of Information requests, so readers can check the facts for themselves.

The actual report is at the link below

http://wearespartacus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/The-Peoples-Review-of-the-Work-Capability-Assessment.pdf

An accessible version is available for download from the below link

 http://wearespartacus.org.uk/wca-report/

Disability Cornwall is concerned that the poorest and most vulnerable households in our county will be unfairly targeted by the proposal to introduce a 25% levy on people currently in receipt of council tax benefit. These households, who include disabled people, carers, families, children and people currently unemployed, are already experiencing a ‘perfect storm’ of stress, isolation and poverty. This proposal could well prove the final straw, pushing people already living on the minimum amount the government sets as its legal definition of poverty, into potential destitution, homelessness and family breakdown. Is this a legacy we really want for Cornwall?

Aside from the fact this proposal discriminates against vulnerable households, whilst the wealthiest in society are left untouched, it neither makes social or economic sense. The inevitable result will be more individuals and families placing greater strains on housing, disabled facilities grants, children’s, health and social care services, at a greater cost to Cornwall Council, the NHS and the voluntary sector. These services are already facing unprecedented demand during a time of severe cuts to their funding. 

Disability Cornwall is sure many people feel as we do and we urge you all to contact your MP’s and local Councillor so we can, together, ensure Cornwall is a better place to live for everyone, regardless of circumstance.

Please follow this link to see the letter we have sent to all of Cornwall Councillors.