Private Eye article - Cheshire Cheesed OffPrivate Eye mo. 1170, 27/10/06 - 9/11/06 p. 39 Cheshire Cheesed OffNews that the Leonard Cheshire charity has teamed up with Barclays Bank and the government to launch a £3m scheme to help up to 600 disabled people start their businesses is laudable. What a shame that none of the 2,000-plus people living in Leonard Cheshire's homes around the country will be able to benefit from it. The Leonard Cheshire residents are caught in the benefits trap; the ludicrous system that financially penalises those in residential care who seek to work. Doug Paulley, a 28-year-old wheelchair user, is a case in point. Mr Paulley was diagnosed nearly 10 years ago with a degenerative neurological disorder and has to live in a home in Wetherby, Yorkshire, because of a lack of accessible accommodation in his home city of Leeds. He is a graduate web designer and has had to turn down several job offers because Government policy dictates that those whose residential or nursing home fees are paid in part by the state have all their earnings except a miserly £20 a week taken from them to pay towards the costs of the home. Currently Mr Paulley's weekly bill at Leonard Cheshire is around £930 a week, so he could theoretically earn up to £950 a week and still only be allowed to receive £20. He would then lose all other related benefits like free prescription sand travel, and thus be worse off. All this flies in the face of the government's stated policy of enabling people to get back to work. Mr Paulley, a passionate campaigner for disability rights, says it reflects the prejudiced perceptions of the potential abilities of residential care users. He believes Leonard Cheshire should champion the rights of its own resident entrepreneurs before embarking on headline-grabbing schemes for others. |