DON'T ABOLISH ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE

A single paragraph in the Local Government Finance Settlement published before Christmas sounded the death knell for attendance allowance (AA).
The government is to launch a consultation on abolishing AA for all new claims and handing the money over to local councils to pay for support for older people.
We are writing with our grave concerns about the abolition of Attendance Allowance, we believe that taking away this financial support from people who may not meet the substantial/critical criteria that Social Services work to will impact on the health of people who may not meet this level of need.
We must bring this to the attention of the public and media as people don't realise what attendance allowance is, this is a benefit payable to people over the age of 65 who have care needs, they do not have to actually receive the help, they just need to have difficulties with everyday tasks, such as dressing and washing, this money can make all the difference between living and existing.
for example.
A Lady who now suffers with problems with Arthritis, affecting her mobility, would mean she could no longer shop, cook for herself. keep her home clean, or access the community.
At present she could use the benefit to pay for a cleaner and someone to do/take her her shopping and extra heating,or running her car, she also gains some company from this and could pay for transport to get her out of the house, without the benefit, she will no longer be able to get her shopping, she may be forced to use the expensive corner shop, she cannot use the internet, her home will get progressively more unclean, this will become a health hazard to both mental and physical health, her mental health could deteriorate as she becomes more isolated, she will be at risk of falls, her diet will become worse, she used to go out in a Taxi she can no longer afford this, leading to isolation, this will lead to hospital admission and more strain on social services.
Loneliness and social isolation are harmful to our health: research shows that lacking social connections is as damaging to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Holt-Lunstad, 2010). Social networks and friendships not only have an impact on reducing the risk of mortality or developing certain diseases, but they also help individuals to recover when they do fall ill (Marmot, 2010).
Assessments carried out by social services often fail to get a true picture of home the person copes on a day to day basis as they are often too proud to admit to having problems, these people will be left with no help whatsoever leading inevitably to further cost down the line.

These cuts will also lead to people getting into debt, they will struggle to keep warm, older people need the extra money for things such as heating and the warm home grant is simply not enough to cover these costs, increasing frailty and lack of mobility mean the person cannot move around to keep warm and more people will die from hypothermia.
A further example is a 73 year old man who was granted Attendance Allowance in November 2015 on the grounds of his increasing immobility and diagnosis with throat and larynx cancer. He was unable to walk to local shops (about 250 yards away) without either stopping for a break every few yards or being taken by a friend. For longer distances, he has to travel by taxi.

Since then, he has been in hospital undergoing a tracheotomy and laryngectomy. Because he was in hospital for more than 28 days, his Attendance Allowance had to stop. Now that he has been discharged, he will have his AA re-instated. His needs have increased as he can no longer speak and his mobility is gradually deteriorating.

He is considerably weaker than when he was admitted to hospital and will not be able to look after his home in the way that was once able. He will require the services of a cleaner and a carer to help him prepare meals, neither of which he would be able to afford without his Attendance Allowance.

Aside from the difficulties and hardship that will be caused to those in most need, local authorities will find that administering such an allowance could be stretching their resources, not least because of staffing cuts created by this Government. Additionally, what guarantees will there be that local authorities will have sufficient funds to match the current rates?

This is yet another swipe at the most vulnerable in our society, potentially depriving them of a quality of life that Attendance Allowance helps to provide.
Just to clarify this will NOT affect current claimants.