³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ > Opinion > Balancing the budget
Laurence Clark
Laurence juggles stand-up comedy with family life. He’s previously toured an anti-Jim Davidson show and been called a ‘sit-down comic’ by Cherie Blair - which was nothing compared to what he calls her! You can catch up with all Laurence's activities on his .
Balancing the budget
22nd March 2009
Laurence is presently writing up a support plan which, using a new government disability scheme, aims to give disabled people a higher standard of living. Here he wonders what he can justify including.
I honestly cannot remember being so excited about making a list of things I want to get since I stopped believing in Santa Claus. For the past few weeks, my imagination has been working overtime coming up with a whole myriad of things that I could justify purchasing with an 'individual budget'.
Individual budgets are a relatively new scheme in the UK, whereby you can get money from the state to pay for your own support. Unlike the older '' system, there are no hard and fast rules about how you can spend your cash. It all comes down to whether you can make a convincing case to your local authority in your support plan.
Indeed, I think it's only a matter of time before some smartarse tries to justify paying for an escort service. I suppose the biggest barrier to pulling this off would be getting a receipt out of them at the end of the evening!
There's still a culture in this country which says that people who get support at the taxpayers' expense should not be allowed to enjoy themselves in any way, for fear of being splashed across the front page of the Daily Mail as a waste of public money. I suspect the majority of people in Britain would have no problem sending one of us off for a miserable time in a respite home for a couple of weeks, but would object to that same funding being used to pay for a holiday in Florida instead - even if the cost was less. As a nation, we need to radically rethink just what we mean by 'social care'.
Without doubt, being a disabled person has always been an expensive business. Everything from housing to going on holiday seems to cost more when access is a priority.
When was introduced in the early seventies, the Government of the time called it a "comprehensive universal benefit" to compensate disabled people for their additional costs of living. However, not so long ago the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that levels of disability benefits fall approximately £200 or more short of the weekly amount required to ensure a minimum standard of living for a disabled person. Therefore my wife Adele and I want to be able to use our budgets to pay for some of these additional costs.
First of all we came up with all sorts of aids and equipment that would make our lives easier. For example, an electric curtain rail would mean we wouldn't have to struggle to circumnavigate our bed every night to close the curtains. Also a remote control electric fire would make cosy nights in, a reality.
In addition, there are a whole load of costs associated with using personal assistants that were never recognised by the old direct payments system, but can now hopefully be met. If you need a PA when you go out then you can end up paying for two meals or two theatre tickets. If I'm working away from home need to stay overnight then my expenses are double, which tends to be very off-putting to potential employers.
Individual budgets are a relatively new scheme in the UK, whereby you can get money from the state to pay for your own support. Unlike the older '' system, there are no hard and fast rules about how you can spend your cash. It all comes down to whether you can make a convincing case to your local authority in your support plan.
Indeed, I think it's only a matter of time before some smartarse tries to justify paying for an escort service. I suppose the biggest barrier to pulling this off would be getting a receipt out of them at the end of the evening!
There's still a culture in this country which says that people who get support at the taxpayers' expense should not be allowed to enjoy themselves in any way, for fear of being splashed across the front page of the Daily Mail as a waste of public money. I suspect the majority of people in Britain would have no problem sending one of us off for a miserable time in a respite home for a couple of weeks, but would object to that same funding being used to pay for a holiday in Florida instead - even if the cost was less. As a nation, we need to radically rethink just what we mean by 'social care'.
Without doubt, being a disabled person has always been an expensive business. Everything from housing to going on holiday seems to cost more when access is a priority.
When was introduced in the early seventies, the Government of the time called it a "comprehensive universal benefit" to compensate disabled people for their additional costs of living. However, not so long ago the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that levels of disability benefits fall approximately £200 or more short of the weekly amount required to ensure a minimum standard of living for a disabled person. Therefore my wife Adele and I want to be able to use our budgets to pay for some of these additional costs.
First of all we came up with all sorts of aids and equipment that would make our lives easier. For example, an electric curtain rail would mean we wouldn't have to struggle to circumnavigate our bed every night to close the curtains. Also a remote control electric fire would make cosy nights in, a reality.
In addition, there are a whole load of costs associated with using personal assistants that were never recognised by the old direct payments system, but can now hopefully be met. If you need a PA when you go out then you can end up paying for two meals or two theatre tickets. If I'm working away from home need to stay overnight then my expenses are double, which tends to be very off-putting to potential employers.
Then we realised that writing our own support plan would finally mean that our support needs as disabled parents could be taken into account. Previously when we'd asked our social worker for support around parenting, we were told that our son Tom would have to be assessed separately by a social worker from the children's team, and that this may result in him being placed on the 'at risk register'! Writing our own plan will give us the opportunity to include things like support to take Tom to and from school and after-school care.
Before long we started to get a bit more ambitious. Adele is going to write private gym membership into our support, since regular visits to an accessible swimming pool would most certainly help her physical mobility. Nowadays, however, going to the gym has become a middle class pastime akin to a golf club, or even a gentlemen's club. Where exactly do we draw the line between equal opportunities and social climbing?
One thing I definitely want to include is electric front doors, as at the moment I cannot unlock ours without assistance. Just being able to come and go from my own home by myself would make an enormous difference to my life.
Of course, it remains to be seen how much of our support plan my local authority will actually agree to!
• What's your opinion of the 'individual budgets' idea? Maybe you've applied and made a support plan already - what did you ask for, and was it granted? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
One thing I definitely want to include is electric front doors, as at the moment I cannot unlock ours without assistance. Just being able to come and go from my own home by myself would make an enormous difference to my life.
Of course, it remains to be seen how much of our support plan my local authority will actually agree to!
• What's your opinion of the 'individual budgets' idea? Maybe you've applied and made a support plan already - what did you ask for, and was it granted? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Comments
When I find out that they're available in my area I'm so asking for a Roomba.
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It will be just like direct payments, they say I need substancial/critical need but because of our nest egg we have to pay for everything.
I looked at a Roomba when they were on special offer a couple of weeks ago (£150ish) and my son started panicking because he hoovers towards his pocket money and he didnt want to be redundant, hes saving for a new steam engine. If I have to remind him about hoovering the word Roomba soon shifts him!
dd
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Just had to say- I'm a social worker and assess children who have disabled parents quite frequently. I've yet to place one of them on any kind of child protection plan and actually think it's quite irresponsible of your worker to suggest that we would.
Hope you enjoy your planning and you get everything on your list!!
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the .
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the .
I've worked as a Direct Payment adviser for 11 years & have seen the difference the funding makes time and time again (for over 400 people). The funding allocated varies on the local authority budgets, the experience and level of knowledge of the Social Workers writing and agreeing the costs. There needs to be more training out there for the budget holders.
Get your act together Local Authorities
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I have Direct Payments for care and so wonder what differnce these Budgets will mean for me as I still need the care. As I have council house adptions are paid for by the council as the landlord.
I would love to have holidays every year but have to find money for that and beg for extra money to take PA or two, so far I have been given just ten days extra PA costs for one holiday in ten years. I stll had to pay for extra room for the PA so cost of holiday doubled!
Will those of us who get DP get any extra for other things we would like to do or have? I doubt it so those who need less care will have more money to improve thier life experience whilst us who do need care all the time will just get the same if we lucky and be in poverty still with hardly any enjoyment in life.
I would love to do some more studies, more holidays, days out etc, I need equipment NHS and council will not provide like ramp to get into my garden.
I will wait and see but I think there will be those who benefit more and those who benefit less in this scheme.
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I think that a balance budget and living in your means is the best way to keep the sources available!
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I am embroiled in a similar situation at the moment. I have been assessed for provision of some equipment, but I am not allowed to see it as part of my decision-making process. Why should I, the mere lowly disabled person, be involved in the decision as to whether or not I accept what is offered when a "professional" outsider can do it for me?
Sure I want to know what can be offered, but why should I be forced to take what is ugly because I am disabled? Or worse, be meant to be so busy being grateful that it doesn't even matter to them to show me what it is they are wanting to come and screw to the walls of my personal property?! I wonder how many homeowners would like for someone to send an email saying "we will come at 10.15 on Wednesday to install a permanent fixture that you have never seen and have no idea of its suitability to your needs". But I am being "obstructive" and "ungrateful" to suggest I might like to know if there is going to be a wire running up my wall where, unlike an AB person who goes out to work and socialise, I will be forced to look at it all day. Hmmmm.
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