DISABLED people met Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman to discuss a Government cut they claim will strip them of their independence.
The Government has proposed to stop paying the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) mobility component to disabled people living in residential care.
Residents of Beechwood residential home in Edgerton are concerned the change – which starts in October, 2012 – will mean that thousands of disabled people in residential care will no longer have the funds to meet extra transport costs, such as an electric wheelchair or adapted car.
The removal of this lifeline payment will have a devastating impact on Tim Owen, 47, who has been living at Beechwood, a residential service at Bryan Road, for the last 12 years.
Tim uses his mobility component to pay for local specially adapted taxis and for transport to go on holiday.
Tim said: “I like to go out as much as I can.The loss of this benefit would have a detrimental effect on my life.”
Currently, disabled people living in state-funded residential homes have to use most of their income to pay for their own care, leaving them with a personal allowance of just £22 a week.
