I was giving a presentation at a learning disabilities seminar last week and one of the participants said that they had been told that there was some content in a green paper(?) which would change in which the way that service user involvement payments were treated for benefit purposes. They weren't sure what the document was.
Is anyone aware of any proposals to change the current situation where the DoH are pushing for service user involvement in planning, training etc. which in some cases has had the effect of the cessation of benefit payments?

Thanks

The Green Paper is probably the paper on IB 'Reform' that has been trailed for months in the media and is due out at the end of January now. If DWP are planning to ease benefit barriers to involvement that will be welcome but I haven't heard of any consultation on the subject as yet.

If anyone out there is asked to advise a client on involvement BEFORE it starts you can help avoid misunderstandings with Jobcentre Plus over incapacity status, if you ensure that JC+ Decision Makers are advised that people are recruited for involvement because of their valued experience of using health or social care services rather than for the more usual recruitment reasons. And of course you ensure that your client is fully informed about the multiple benefit rules and conditions.

However you are more likely to be asked to advise after a misunderstanding has led to a review and disallowance of incapacity based benefits in error (as the medical service have not been advised about involvement either).

The Mental Health Foundation may still have a copy or two of the brief guide to benefits and payments for involvement that I wrote in 2003. It is called 'A Fair Day's Pay'(020 7803 1100). The Disability Alliance have published a guide on part-time working while on benefits that may be relevant to involvement. It is called 'the way to work', and covers all the benefit rules, hazards and conditions that may crop up for people on incapacity based benefits (020 7247
8776).

There's also an interesting report published by Social Care Institute for Excellence entitled "Contributing on Equal Terms: Service user involvement and the benefits system", available at www.scie.org.uk Judy gets acknowledged in this. The report can be useful reosurce for exploring some of the issues with those without an understanding of benefits.

I've been involved in drawing up a report and recomednations on service user payment for a Learning Disability Partnership Board over last 6 monts or so. That Board has written to and spoken to DWP ministers about this matter but have had no signs about anything in green paper on this.

DoH have now (23.1.06) published a very thorough guide to SU involvement and the benefits, tax and emplyment law implications.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/68/65/04126865.pdf

Very thorough, rather scary - all payments to SU's to be notified to Revenue and JCP, welfare rights workers may need retraining, changed job descriptions (para.18). All very right and proper but this level of bureaucracy, particularly registering with the Revenue, will one suspects, kill a lot of SU involvement policies stone dead.

No mention of possible effects on DLA however.

Richard Atkinson
Wirral Welfare Rights Unit