FIGHTING AND BEATING CITY HALL

When Mel was diagnosed in August of 2007, she was preparing for her third year at Aston University.  It was hoped initially that she could receive her treatment and still maintain her studies, but it soon became apparent this wasn't going to be possible.  Mel also explored the idea of trying to keep up with her studies online, this would mean she could stay at home and continue her course.

Eventually, after a month or so, she had to give in and accept that it wasn't going to be possible to continue her studies for a while and with this in mind she decided to take a year out.  There had been delays in Mel's application for her student loan and as a result she hadn't received it.  Knowing she was going to have to take a year out, to recover from cancer she cancelled her application and on Mel's behalf we applied for Income Support. 

What followed was unbelievable, even by our own government's low moral standards.  Mel wasn't eligible for Income Support as she was still a student.  We tried to explain that she was taking a year out to recover from cancer, but it didn't matter.  They couldn't care less whether she was trekking across Asia or recovering from a life threatening disease, she was still classed as a student and therefore entitled to no financial support from the state.  If she had been  deaf, disabled, a single parent or a refugee, she would have qualified.  We applied for Disablement Living Allowance, but that depends on how ill you are and takes three months to sort out.  Incapacity Benefit was also refused.  In one piece of correspondence they advised Mel to either give up her course or just claim her student loan.  They haven't a clue how detrimental giving up her course completely would have been for Mel, her goal was to return to University and continue a normal life.  As for drawing on her student loan, as we explained to our MP, we were always under the impression that a student loan was to support study and not illness. 

I got our MP involved and after many emails between her and the ministers in London they agreed the law was wrong and that it needed looking at.  That is how things stand at the moment.  We have managed to get the law changed, but of course nothing is ever simple and before this can happen they have to make sure that no-one suffers by them changing a law that they admit is wrong. I have made suggestions which they have taken on board, but it has been a long fight . . . and one that continues.  Incidentally, it was five months before Mel got any financial support from the government.  Five months!!!!!!  I have since had correspondence from other students who have had a longer wait.  It is wrong!

I then heard from my MP and she stated that they were still looking at the deeming rules with a view to changing the rulings.  This was something that needed sorting and through liaison with our MP and the Minister in London we're on the right road.  However, as I said earlier, nothing is ever easy and in the latest letter the minister for DWP who replaced Kitty Ussher (who resigned after being caught fiddling her expenses) said that in the current economic climate they were unable to find funds to implement the changes and therefore the deeming rules remain unchanged.  So, I was left with the impression that we are being governed by a party who think it is perfectly acceptable to let a young person with cancer (or any long term illness) have no financial support for five months or more.  They don't think it unreasonable when someone has to apologise to friends for not being able to buy them Christmas presents because they have no financial support.  We helped as much as we could, but with a petrol bill that escalated from £50 a month, to £50 every three days, plus other illness related expenses, it was as much as we could do to keep our own heads above water.  On top of this it is about self respect.  As a twenty year old, Melissa needed money for herself, she wasn't asking for hundreds of pounds a week, just a few pounds to live on.

If you take three people from society, one is employed, one is unemployed and one a student.  If all three get a long term illness, the employed person gets sick pay and the unemployed person gets benefits.  Neither of them have to pay back a penny.  This government thinks students should have to use their student loan to supplement their illness and then pay it back at a later date.  Unfair?  You bet it is and the fight continues to get a fair deal for students who fall long term ill.  Message to the DWP.  I will not go away!

The plan then was that they would look at the financial side of things in last year's pre-budget report.  This did nothing.  It didn't happen.  Following yet another false promise, my MP Janet Dean applied for an adjournment debate on the issue at the House of Commons.  This happened on Tuesday January 12th, Janet Dean gave a speech in the House of Commons on what she described as an "immoral" situation, James Plaskitt  MP added his comments, agreeing with all that Janet had said and this was responded to by the current DWP Minister Helen Goodman MP.  She agreed the situation was wrong and needed addressing but also said that when the situation was rectified, it needed to be done properly.  Both Janet and James said they would like it sorted by the time Parliament ends in May.  I have written to David Cameron asking that if it isn't sorted, his party continue the fight. I am awaiting his reply.

In any long term illnesses, there are associated costs and financial hardship is a real possibility.  Were it not for grants from organisations such as CLIC Sargent, MacMillan and indeed our own hospital, we would have come close to going under.  All this at a time when our eldest daughter was dying from cancer.  I shall be backing MacMillan's campaign to scrap hospital parking charges.  There should be NO hospital parking charges for carers of long term ill patients.  Forms should be made EASY to fill in and not consist of reams and reams of pointless questions.  A SIMPLE letter from a GP or consultant should suffice.  When we were applying for DLA for Mel there were questions such as "How far can you walk".  Some days Mel could walk round to the shop, other days she couldn't walk up the stairs.  If I could give anyone one piece of advice, it is to put the worst case scenario!  Ideally, these sort of stupid questions should disappear, but until they do, just put the worst case scenario.

On Saturday 27th March I received a letter from Janet Dean MP to say that the law was being changed and as from October 2010 students with long term illnesses who take time out of their studies to recover will be entitled to financial support from the government.  Victory.  We took on the big guys and managed to convince them the current system was wrong and needed changing and after a two and a half year battle, it's going to happen.  There are finer details to be sorted out, the new coalition government should be sorting this out as we speak.  I appreciate these things can't just be implemented overnight, but it's going to happen and we've made a real difference for Mel and for any students who sadly find themselves in a similar situation.