The Blue Badge system is undergoing a review in both Wales and Scotland. Both countries are consulting on possible changes to the system and are seeking the views of as many badge users as possible.

There are slight differences between the Blue Badge Scheme in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This can cause confusion and the current reviews could offer the opportunity to bring all countries in to line. This could reduce the chances of making mistakes but could also reduce some of the concessions available to Badge users.

Wales

Proposals being put forward in Wales include:

• Extending access to children under 3 years old
• Allowing people with “Temporary Disabilities” to use a Blue Badge for the duration of their disability.
• Find further details on the Welsh Blue Badge Review at:  http://jfi.me/r

Scotland

In Scotland Blue Badge holders can currently park on yellow lines for as long as they need. Proposed changes include:

• Introducing a maximum stay of 3 hours for parking on single and double yellow lines. This would bring Scotland into line with the rest of the UK.
• Banning Parking on Double Yellow Lines. This move is apparently backed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents but could make it much more difficult for people to park near to their destination.
• The full document can be found at:  http://jfi.me/s

What Are Your Views?

Obviously there is the potential for quite major changes to the systems currently in use. I believe there could be improvements made to the application process and making it more standardised across the UK. Mobilise have found that there are some councils issuing Blue Badges to everyone over a certain age regardless of other qualifying criteria, yet elsewhere people with genuine need are rejected!

Your views can be sent directly to the Consultation Administrators via the links above. Alternatively, Mobilise are preparing a response and you are welcome to post your thoughts as a comment on this post or on our Facebook Page (the ideal place to start a discussion!).

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Campsite Review

Gallowhill campsite is a short drive out of the town of Kinross, Perthshire in Scotland.  Take the junction 6 off the M90 and follow the signs into the town.  Turn left along the main street and left again when signposted.  You head out of Kinross, over the M90 and the campsite is on the left hand side.

The approach is very easy although there is a rough farm track to the site once you leave the main road.  Stop at the farm house to book in and the very friendly owner will drive up to the site with you and show you around.

In a way there are two site in one here.  There is a Caravan Club CL in a field at the bottom adjacent to the main site up the hill.  When we visited the CL was flooded so we were placed on the main site.  We were only charged the CL rates though!

The site has a mixture of grass and hard standings.  The hard standings were a little unusual because you had to cross a couple of metres of grass to get to the concrete rectangle.  There had been some heavy rain in the week before so this grass was easily chewed up but really this just made a mess of the grass rather than any problem for us.

Facilities

All the facilities were found at the centre of the site.  The toilet block was basic but very clean.  The water and waste points for the motorhome were down the side of this block.  There was a play park, again a little basic but functional.  The electric hook up on the pitch didn’t cause us any difficulty.

Disabled Facilities Are Not Advertised

All roads were rough stone tracks.  Not a problem for vehicles but my wheelchair would not have stood a chance.  Fortunately there was not far to walk to get to the facilities.  If you can use ordinary facilities and walk a short distance you should be OK.  If you need a chair or buggy, you might struggle.

Kinross

The town is probably too far away for most folk to walk.  It’s certainly within range for a bike ride though.  Parking is mainly on the street.

The high street is worth a wander.  There is a reasonable selection of shops and the locals are friendly!  On the outskirts of the town is a larger (but not huge) supermarket.

The area is well worth a visit with plenty to do nearby.  Perth and Blairgowrie Safari Park are both options.  Incidently, the area plays host to T in the Park this weekend.  This annual festival is one of the major events on the UK music calender.

Opinion

A pleasant, unpretentious site that is fantastic for a relaxing weekend.  We will certainly return.  Just remember that music festival, the town trebles in size when the young people of Scotland drop in for a party.  If that’s your scene book very early.  If not, go the weekend after!

Have You Been?  Tell Us

If you’ve been to Gallowhill or I’ve missed any details that would interest you, please use the comments section to tell us all about it.

Here’s a story from the BBC that deserves as much publicity as possible. It features a chap called Qamar Khaliq who asked a guard to help him get onto his train. The response? The Guard didn’t even acknowledge his presence, let alone try to help.

Unfortunately for the guard, Qamar filmed the whole thing!

Click on the link to see the video on the BBC website.

http://jfi.me/n

Suspended

The Manchester Evening News spoke to Qamar after the event. He said that despite the incident leaving him feeling vulnerable and even less likely to use rail travel in the future, the guard should not be sacked. He has been suspended though, pending investigation.

The paper carries a link to a YouTube video of the incident but unfortunately it has been removed for a “Terms of Use Violation”!?! A link to the paper’s story is in the Related Articles section below (some of the comments are interesting!).

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• Don’t sack rail guard who snubbed me (menmedia.co.uk)

Do you want to be a part of DisabledPeople.org?  I think this site should be a real community affair.  So, do you want to get involved?

All contributions are welcome, from comments on here or our Facebook page to writing full articles (or a regular spot!).  If you want to do a little more than leave comments, then please get in touch and we’ll give you the site access you need.

Don’t forget, we’re always open to suggestions.  Whether it’s a site feature or an idea for a story, let us know!!

Contact me on:  Jamie(at)DisabledPeople.org or through the comments.

This story is quite well known now but there has been a recent call for help that you just might have missed!

The Campaign

A little while ago a bloke called Mark Cooper was forced to leave the pub he was drinking in with his mates.  The reason? He needed the loo!

Most of the pub was accessible to him in his wheelchair but the toilets were not. Something he didn’t realise until he needed to go.

Encouraged by his mates, Mark started a campaign using a Facebook page to spread the word. Big publicity came his way when Capability Scotland added their weight and the campaign soon gained national attention.

The Result

Success came at the end of June in the form of an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act. The act now says that premises must give information about how a Disabled Person will access the venue as part of the Licence application.

What’s Next?

Well the hard work is really just beginning. The Scottish Parliament now needs to know what information it needs to get from potential licensees and, guess what? They’re asking us!!

For more information and to add your views, head over to the Facebook page Mark created: http://jfi.me/k

I’ve got a snail mail address too, just ask if you want it!!

Newsletter

Today, http://BenefitsandWork.co.uk published their latest newsletter. It details worrying changes to qualification guidelines for the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).  This website provides a wealth of free information to both members and non-members.

In addition to basic site access, http://BenefitsandWork.co.uk offer premium guides and full forum access to paid subscribers. If you are in the position of having to apply for DLA, Incapacity Benefit or ESA, their guides could be well worth the subscription fee.

Their newsletter is reproduced in full below.

We hadn’t intended to publish any newsletters in August, but the latest move by the coalition really does need an urgent response from you if you’re claiming incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance.

Back in April, when new labour was still in power, we warned that the secretary of state for work and pensions had approved plans to make the work capability assessment, the medical test for employment and support allowance, much harder to pass.  Our news was greeted with considerable scepticism on many forums and blogs, especially when we warned:

“The shock plans, for ‘simplifying’ the work capability assessment for employment and support allowance (ESA) include docking points from amputees who can lift and carry with their stumps. Claimants with speech problems who can write a sign saying, for example, ‘The office is on fire!’ will score no points for speech and deaf claimants who can read the sign will lose all their points for hearing.

“Meanwhile, for ‘health and safety reasons’ all points scored for problems with bending and kneeling are to be abolished and claimants who have difficulty walking can be assessed using imaginary wheelchairs.

“Claimants who have difficulty standing for any length of time will, under the plans, also have to show they have equal difficulty sitting, and vice versa, in order to score any points.  And no matter how bad their problems with standing and sitting, they will not score enough points to be awarded ESA.

“In addition, almost half of the 41 mental health descriptors for which points can be scored are being removed from the new ‘simpler’ test, greatly reducing the chances of being found incapable of work due to such things as poor memory, confusion, depression and anxiety.

“There are some improvements to the test under the plans, including exemptions for people likely to be starting chemotherapy and more mental health grounds for being admitted to the support group.  But the changes are overwhelmingly about pushing tens of thousands more people onto JSA.”

That’s what we warned back in April.  Well, those same new labour ‘simplifications’ have now been adopted by the coalition and the regulations have been put before the social security advisory committee (SSAC) for comment.  SSAC can make recommendations to the government about whether changes to the law should go ahead, but they cannot force the government to back down.

Very few ESA claimants will be left unaffected by these changes which will come into force on 28 March 2011, in time to disqualify thousands more incapacity benefits claimants transferring to ESA.

Members can read the detailed breakdown of the huge changes – even the walking descriptors have been abolished and replaced with descriptors relating to the ability to ‘mobilise’ – which we wrote back in April:

Even harsher new ESA medical approved (This article is members only)

Please note: there may have been some minor alterations to the proposed changes since that article was written – the SSAC document is almost 200 pages long and we haven’t had time to read it all, but any differences will be very minor.

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

In the end, if the government are determined to force these changes through in defiance of any advice they receive then can do so.  But that’s not a reason to fail to put forward your objections both to the way the WCA is currently working and to the proposed changes.

At the very least it will prove that there are thousands of people who are outraged by this increasingly cynical scapegoating of sick and disabled claimants and who are not afraid to speak out.

And there’s no doubt that some backbench LibDem MPs are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the direction the coalition is taking in relation to benefits.  Your reasoned objections may give them the courage to finally challenge the millionaires club that is the current cabinet.

SSAC CONSULTATION

If you want to comment on the proposed changes to the WCA, then you need to contact SSAC.  You can read more about their consultation and download the draft regulations

or you can just send your opinions to this email address:

ssac@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

not later than 10 September.

INDEPENDENT REVIEW  OF THE WCA

When ESA was introduced, one of the few concessions forced on the government was that there should be an independent review of the work capability assessment every year for the first five years.  That review is now being conducted by Professor Malcolm Harrington.  He wants to hear from people who have evidence to offer about how well the work capability is working and how fair it is at the moment, regardless of any proposed changes.  You can read a lot more about the review.

or you can just send your views and experiences of the work capability assessment to Professor Harrington at this address:

wca.evidence@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

You need to send your evidence not later than 10 September and make it clear whether you are responding as an individual or as a representative of an organisation.  You might also want to comment on the cynicism of the government in making the test even harsher before the first report is even written.

MIND CONSULTATION

MIND are also planning to provide evidence to Professor Harrington’s review as part of an ongoing campaign to improve benefits for people with mental health conditions.  They are keen to hear from Benefits and Work newsletter readers who have a mental health condition.

Tom Pollard from Mind’s Policy and Campaigns team told us:

“We will be working hard over the coming months to bring about a fairer and more supportive system of disability benefits and back to work schemes for people mental health conditions.

“Benefits and Work plays a vital role in this process through the advice, information and assistance they provide to their members. Our work is greatly strengthened by real-life case studies and so it would be great if Benefits and Work readers can let us know about their experiences of the WCA (including the appeals process). Please get in touch at t.pollard@mind.org.uk or 02082152424. You can read more about our work on this issue and how you can get involved here”

The sooner you can contact Tom the better, as MIND will need time to gather your evidence and put it in their report.

We do think it’s a real tribute to the willingness of Benefits and Work members to respond to consultations and requests from journalists that you are now being approached by national charities for help in compiling reports.  So, many thanks to all of you who take the time and trouble to share your experiences.

FORUMS
Unfortunately it will be necessary to close the forums the end of this week until September due to illness and unavailability of moderators.  We can only apologise for this.  If there are existing members of the site with experience of giving information and advice about benefits who would be interested in lending a hand, please do get in touch.

FINALLY
We know a lot of people are very concerned about the prospect of ‘bounty hunters’ being let loose on claimants, as  reported in the national press.  We hope to be able to bring you some accurate information in the very near future about what’s really going to happen.

This newsletter is also available online.

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/latest-news/1238-16-august-newsletter

Good luck,

Steve Donnison

(c) 2010 Steve Donnison. Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd.  Company registration No.  5962666

You are welcome to reproduce this newsletter on your website or blog, provided you do so in full.

Openness Statement

I am not affiliated to http://BenefitsAndWork.co.uk and the links on this page are direct, not affiliate links. I am not currently a paid member of the site.

Follow DisabledPeople.org on Facebook: http://jfi.me/DPFB

Today’s newsletter from Scope brings news of their latest campaign about access to public transport.  Scope started out life as a charity campaigning and raising awareness about Cerebral Palsy.  Recently they have expanded their campaigns to a more general Disability message including their successful Disablism campaign.

Scope’s website makes an interesting read. Find it here: http://jfi.me/Z

Disability Links

Please remember we have a Links Page on DisabledPeople. Hopefully this will provide some useful places to start looking for the information you need. Together though, we can make it much better.

There must be sites that you’ve saved/bookmarked/added as a favourite. Sites that deserve a second look or that you’ve shared with friends?

Maybe you’ve developed a site and want to share it with others?

If you want to add a site to the Links Page, the easiest way is to add a comment to the bottom of the page. Alternatively, you can use the Contact-Us form to send a more private message.

I’d also love to know about sites that you think deserve more of a mention. Drop me a line telling us about the site and your own comments/review if you wish, then we can add an article.

Thanks for those comments we’ve received already. Keep them coming. The more feedback we get, the better this site should get!

Spam Policy

Please don’t try to spam this site. Links relevant to Disability will be added to the library. If you would like an unrelated site added, tell me why. If a site doesn’t appear relevant and has no note it will be deleted. Thanks!

I was a little surprised when the kids suggested the Shipwreck and Heritage Centre at Charlestown as their wet day suggestion.  It turned out they were attracted by references to the most recent Titanic film.  The centre has the necklace worn by Kate Winslet on display!

Getting There

Charlestown is a small town on the South Cornish coast.  It’s not difficult to find or get to, being just a stones throw off the main A380.  Even today though (Thursday in July), the town was remarkably busy.

Aerial View of Charleston

On the way into the town there were a large number of cars parked on the road.  Presumably this was to avoid paying for parking but the distance involved would be too far for anyone with mobility problems.

Down by the harbour were two quite large car parks.  Other than this, all parking is reserved for local residents.

I didn’t fancy trying to park the motorhome in either of the car parks so I managed to find some double yellow lines just outside the Centre.  There was certainly plenty of room without causing an obstruction but there wasn’t room for many vehicles.  Both the car parks were within a reasonable distance of the Centre, so it should have been easy if we had a car!  Unfortunately I cannot comment on spaces or cost of the car park.

Access To The Centre

Considering where this centre is built and the way it incorporates some of the tunnels used to load ships in the harbour, they have done a remarkable job of making the centre accessible.

At the entrance were two manual wheelchairs for loan.  Due to problems with my own chair, I took advantage of this service and found the chair more than adequate for the purpose.

There is one flight of steps on the route round but an alternative, Disabled route, is well signposted.  Since you can get to both the bottom and the top of these stairs there is nothing missed by using this alternative route.  In fact the only inaccessible exhibit is the ex-RNLI Lifeboat at the beginning.  It’s easy enough to hear the description through the loud speakers but not possible to climb the stairs to see inside.

The main section of the centre has no steps, just ramps.  However, some of these ramps are steep and have to be negotiated going up and down.  For this reason I would advise that a fit helper be available, just in case!

What’s To See?

Image via Wikipedia

The Heritage Centre has a number of displays depicting life in a Cornish port town over the years.  There are also displays and information about the local China Clay quarry and how the clay was transferred to boats in Charlestown harbour before being taken all over the world.

On the Shipwreck side, there is a big collection of artefacts from various wrecks including the Lusitania, HMS Edinburgh and a wide range of British and foreign military and trading vessels.  The wrecks featured go back at least as far as the Mary Rose and come right up to the present day.

As mentioned earlier, Kate Winslet’s necklace, The Heart of the Ocean is given pride of place on the Titanic display.  This is despite the fact that the necklace was never on the Titanic and certainly had nothing to do with it sinking!

In addition to the necklace, there are a number of objects that do come from Titanic!

Admission Costs

Adults – £5.95
Concession (inc. Disabled) – £3.95
Children – £2.95  –  Under 10′s are free with a full paying adult.

We also had a £1 voucher from a Cornwall “holiday guide”.

So, £11.85 for my family plus £1.50 for a guide book.  Tickets are valid all day, so you can leave and return if you wish.

Conclusions

I think the kids made a good call choosing the Shipwreck and Heritage Centre.  If you have an interest in the sea and all things on/in it, then there is bound to be something of interest for you here.

The kids were given a quiz sheet on entry that kept them amused.  Without it, I think they might have struggled to maintain interest right to the end.

Access was good throughout but a fit carer would be a definite bonus to help with some of the steeper ramps.

Car parking was reasonably close but very tricky for anything bigger than a car.  The double yellows I parked on would only manage a couple of vehicles.

Overall I think the centre offers good value for money.  It was interesting and engaging, easy to get about and the kids enjoyed it too!

Over to You

Have you been to the Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre?  Is there anywhere else in Cornwall worth a visit?  Let us know your thoughts.

A quick heads up for the Disabled Motorhome Driver.  Usually the size of our vehicle means that we have to park at the back of the car park where there is more room.  Using those precious Disabled Spaces is a dream that will never come come true……Or will it?

Whilst driving South down the A1 and M1, we were very surprised to find two service areas with Disabled Spaces flexible enough to accommodate our motorhome.

A1 Wetherby

This service area is fairly new.  There are Disabled Spaces across the front of the main building that have bollards restricting their length.

Wetherby Services A1

The good news is that there are more spaces in front of the adjacent hotel.  There is a VERY wide pavement which allows us to reverse the motorhome right back but still providing plenty of room behind the ‘van.

For once we can park in a space conveniently close to the entrance but not getting in anyone’s way!

The service area itself was has a couple of Coffee bars  (Costa) and a food area doing the traditional English Breakfast.  There was also a Roll shop, Marks and Spencer and a Newsagent.  It’s not huge but the fry up was good!

M1 Trowell Services

Situated between junctions 25 and 26 on the M1, Nottingham is the closest city to Trowell Services.

Trowell Services M1

For us, this was just a quick loo stop so I was really pleased about the available parking.  The Disabled Parking formed an L shape at the main entrance.  Luckily for us, the way these spaces are positioned created a few ‘longer than usual’ spaces.  There was plenty of room here to park the Motorhome.

Have you got a favourite place to stop?  Whether you’re travelling in a motorhome or not, let us know where you schedule your breaks.  Add to the comments or send your review by email.  All contributions VERY welcome!