Email referred to in Welcome post.

I would like to bring to your attention the current "rolling program" of Disability Living & Mobility Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) Reviews being undertaken by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). You or your organisation may be able to help. Please pass the information on to interested parties.

There is a petition on the Downing Street Website concerning this matter which can be found here : "10 Downing Street Petition"

It reads as follows

"Right Payment Programme
The RPP was introduced in May 2007 with no prior consultation and no publicity to replace Periodic Review (PR) Under PR, a large proportion of DLA recipients with chronic health/disability were exempt from PR. However, without any prior warning or consultation these exemptions have been withdrawn, and the only exempt groups under RPP, are those with terminal illness, or those awarded DLA in the last 12 months.
The effect of the above is that many chronically sick/disabled people with chronic and incurable conditions will face having their award reviewed, and possibly reduced or removed altogether. We feel that this a retrograde step, and will lead to the errors which resulted from the Benefits Integrity Project (BIP), the predecessor of Periodic Review, which was halted by the government in 1999 as a 'disaster'.
We respectfully request the Prime Minister to review the highly likely effects that RPP will have on many DLA claimants and call on him to instruct the Sec of State for Work and Pensions to afford the same exemptions as were in Periodic Review to the Right Payment Programme."
Many HIV people who receive this benefit are subject to this review. Currently many disabled people who have been reviewed are loosing the benefit and are having to re-apply.”

This will place those with HIV in receipt of these benefits and unable to work into severe hardship & poverty.

Any change to payments or levels of Disability Living Allowance will have an impact on other benefits i.e. Incapacity Benefit and the disablement components elsewhere, Blue badges, Freedom passes etc.

There has been little mention of this change in the HIV media & movement thus far. According to the DWP website. Lisa Power of "Terrence Higgins Trust" , "DWP DCS Link" , is a "Member Group" of the Disability & Carers Service. Yet I found no information the Terrence Higgins Website.

I would ask that you encourage people to sign the petition on the Downing Street Website, write to their member of parliament & spread the word about this.

This doesn't just affect HIV+ individuals but all disabled people currently in receipt of the high level of payments under the special rules.

There may also be a case to answer under existing law concerning discrimination. As a specific group of disabled people with be targeted. Other sources of information can be found here :

"Disability Alliance"
"Disability Carers Service (DCS)"
"Benefits & Work Forum"