Jobsworth officials stop a one-legged schoolgirl's benefits because she's not disabled enough
25/03/2011

A GIRL with one leg has had her benefits stopped by jobsworth officials – because she’s not disabled enough.

Olivia Porter, 10, had her right leg amputated below the knee in 2003 because of meningitis and can only hobble a few steps on her one good leg and a prosthetic limb.

But despite living in constant pain, Whitehall mandarins have snatched away Olivia’s £300-a-month benefits – used to buy petrol to get to hospital appointments – on the evidence of one phone call to her school.

The money was paid to her aunt Sheryl Robertson, who has looked after Olivia and her sisters Beth, 13, and Georgia, 12, since their mum died in 2002, aged 21.

The schoolgirl said: “My false leg hurts me quite a bit and I have to take it off. It’s tough getting out of the bath and it’s difficult running around because I fall over.’’

Yesterday it emerged that Department for Work and Pensions penpushers stopped the money after speaking to a teacher at Olivia’s school, Henry Hinde Junior, in Rugby.


Sheryl, from Hillmorton, Warks, who has two children of her own, raged: “I’m being told Olivia is not disabled enough to qualify for the allowance.

“It’s diabolical. How disabled do you have to be? She can’t catch a ball or ride a bike.

“I am outraged the decision was made after the DWP phoned Olivia’s teacher.

“They don’t see Olivia take off her prosthetic leg because she is in so much pain and they don’t see the sores on her body.

“They don’t see how long Olivia takes to get dressed and they don’t see me having to put the toothpaste on her brush.’’

The family will hear the result of an appeal in August.

absolutely disgusting! makes me really mad when i see all these ''so called'' disabled with so called bad backs,can't walk far,can't lift anything etc,etc,and they can get everything!! and there's this poor girl having her benefit stopped,as her aunt says 'how disabled do you have to be??''
i just hope all these benefit cheats read that story and hang there head in shame!!

Link to source please..

SOURCE

Cheers bud.

This pisses me off to the extreme! You see these twonks walking around in their 'Gerard No'8' footy shirts and their walking sticks complaning of bad backs but it doesn't stop them going to the pub with their 12 kids runnng round and screaming like banshees while their heffer wives are ordering enough food to sink a battleship plus the DIET coke of course! Not to mention the motability allowance which gets them a free car, costs me a small fortune to run my car, they get free insurance, free tax and servicing and MOT! Don't get me started on the 'my disabled mate can get a car and we'll have it and pay her the monthly pittance' I've told them they won't be insured but do the listen??

This is awfull news,but she will win her appeal,i think.
I have a little inside knowledge,that the goverment have a target of 80% to be taken off DLA,which will get rid of all the fake claims of bad back etc.
The genuine disabled people are getting knocked back at first but will win if appealed against.

I have heard of the 80% business and I agree that a lot of genuine claimants will be knocked back to try and reach this target but I disagree that most will win their appeal. I know of a former ballet dancer that broke her back in an accident and was told by the DWP doctor that she can still do her former job so was not entitled to benefit!
Go figure!

Thats awfull,was it a qualified doctor who has stated that she can still do her job or a muppet from the company the goverment have contracted to do the so called medical examination?

many thanks for putting the source link up

I know not who he worked for apart from he was a representative of the DWP, so prob a muppet!

croc,is she a friend,if so tell her to request doctor/atos enforcements name,and also under FOI act ask to see so called doctors report,some people are finding out that some of the so called ATOS doctors are not permitted to practice as doctors,also ATOS sometimes only use a nurse to assess you.
The main thing is not to be scared off by them appeal,appeal,appeal this will cost ATOS lots of money and so will eat into their companys profit margin.
I don't forget you are watched by cctv from the moment you enter the car park,but better still if you are genuinely bedridden demand they visit you.

dont read mirror full of *********, read daily mail or telegraph

I believe this because the exact same thing happened to my sons partner who lives in Wallasey. The DLA for her 11 year old son was cut off . He has had his right leg aputated below the knee for a childhood illness, but every 2 years he has to go have his stump skin opened and the bone shaved so that it grows right, a very painful debilitating exercise in itself that takes months to heal, so over this time he can't wear his prosthetic leg and is in his wheelchair. The reason given for stopping DLA was he's been like that for over five years now so he should be used to it and hes not disabled enough. She did appeal and was awarded her claim back and some backpay, but it should never have happened to begin with.
It's appalling really, when some people fiddle the DLA for the most of simple things . It makes me so so angry!.

Im alittle confused here, why does a family need an extra 300£ a month for their child with one leg? other than fuel up to the hospital I cant see what else they need it for as everything else is on the nhs.

Not picking sides here, I am on the fence.

sanchez part or most of the £300 can go towards getting an adapted vehicle from the motability scheme.....

i think this article is extremely biased and misrepresentation as there is alot more than one visit per month to the hospital, when caring for a disabled child...

So that £300 can be used towards a motability car? fair enough. I sometimes look on the news and see these 3rd world children managing to get around fine with limbs missing, they seem to manage without grants and mobility aids.....

sanchez surely you are not suggesting that children in the western world have no access to grants or mobility aids just because third world children have no access to these....???


and a good two thirds of that £300 goes towards a mobility car per month...

I know of one fiddling crowd who have 2 mobility cars (one of which is hived off to a non disabled family member) and also fiddle the benefits by pretending to live apart (well they do have 2 homes but actually live together and screw the system for both) and its that kind of outright banditry that deprives the needy from their just compensation for what life has thrown at them. Plus of course they think that they are better classed than anyone else. It doesn't excuse the heartlessness that some cases seem to throw up but it certainly doesn't help.

Not at all, just saying that they manage without...

sanchez they do manage without,
it is obvius that you dont know much about children with disabilities and just to let you and others who dont know what it is like...it isnt a bed of roses full of money every month...

in most cases it is looking after their child 24/7, seeing to their needs, cleaning wounds, feeding, changing, ensuring they are safe and secure...some people actually dont know whether when they go to sleep, next to their child, whether the child will be breathing....

jobs for carers are a laugh...only the minimum hours can be worked and that is IF you have a good support system in place to look after their child whilst the carer is in work..and by support system i mean other family members, this direct payments is a load of bollox and does not go to most of the needy....but then whilst in work employers are not happy with the time off you have to take to get your child to appointments etc...

carers are isolated, have low self esteem and work and worry 24/7.....

it is an extremely hard existence, and until we are in that position we do not realise the full depth of it

Your right RQ, never having kids or disabled kids I aint got a clue. But I still fail to see how limbless children (who have to walk miles to que for hours/days) to see an very under educated doctor get along fine, but our children need a £300 a month grant.

Not trying to have a pop, just looking for answers

i know sanchez, it is like i know nothing about cars, have many blonde moments on that subject lol, just trying to explain that it is very hard for parents with children with disabilities, i dont think there are any fast and hard answers and i totally agree about third world children.....they also should have access to mobility aids etc ffs we are supposed to live in a civilised world life is just not fair

Bloody hell Sanch, some of them live in houses made out of cow shit but that don't mean that we have to. Just thank God you was born a Brit, it's what I do.

Thats the thing, we are all blessed here to have help for most problems we encounter, its a shame most of this help is abused and make it hard for people with genuine cases to get it.

I suppose we just have to make do with what we have and what we can get eh?

That's the spirit Sanch. Still help where we can but don't let the brasstewards take the mick.

I do believe you are serious! Is this the same Daily Mail that said Hitler was the best thing since sliced bread in the 1930's and continues to spout right wing propaganda? As for the Torygraph, don't make me laugh.

I can't believe some of the things I have read on this thread. Some faceless git has decided that a one legged girl is not disabled enough for a benefit entitlement. If you agree with that, then I sincerely hope it never happens to you because karma has a way of biting you on the bum.

Yes there are phoney's but if you know about them then inform the authorities. Don't even have to give your name. Sounds like some of you are just jealous?

No I am not on benefits, nor are members of my family but I would like the safety net to be there just in case and so should everyone. Be careful what you wish for!

Yeah, but it's supposed to be a safety net for genuine cases not a fund for supplying lazy, idle gits with a luxury life style on the backs of those who are working.
There's a post earlier on telling people not to forget to limp when in the car park of the claims dept. because you are on the cctv once you are in there. Some plebs know all the tricks......if you see what I mean.

I think that if you are found to be cheating the system, as punishment you should be made to help people with real disabilities for a year to understand and realise why this help is really there. but then if these cheats are robbing the system, then what would stop them roobing the disabled they would be with.....

Bandy you have taken my post out of context please read posts before it was to help a genuine case,i have a friend who is paralysed from waist down,but cos she has encredible arm strength she managed to get in to her wheelchair,out of the car unassisted by her mother and got knocked back.totally unfair.

It was not intended to help the fakers,thats what i said these new rules will be good to get rid of all the fakers.

About the story, that's utterly disgraceful. I'm shocked an apalled.

Point taken Poodle, mis-construed what you was getting at, apologies.

Ok thanks Bandy.