Round peg, square hole, the perfect pairing

The Tories, having made an utter, and completely deliberate, hash of the ESA and PIP disability benefits, are now proposing assessing both with a single assessment. Because merging everything else into Universal Credit's single assessment regime has worked so well. The idea is ridiculous, people apply for PIP when their disability makes them eligible, they apply for ESA when they are disabled and lose their job, the two things don't happen at the same time, but Tories....

To give some idea of the cross-over (or not), you get PIP for things like not being able to dress yourself or cook without help, or being able to walk less than 20m, whereas ESA can be taken away from you if the assessor imagines your problems with finding work would be solved by using a wheelchair which you don't have and which Wheelchair Services are refusing to give you. Yes, ESA assessments really do involve imaginary wheelchairs....

The best analogy I can think of is having a single test for both your driving and HGV licenses, and failing the driving test if the examiner doesn't thing you'd do well behind the wheel of a 50 tonne artic.

Anyway, my friend Lisa has started a petition to try and point out this is an utterly stupid idea proposed by people without a clue about disability, and a history of driving disabled people away from the benefits they're entitled to, so if you feel able to sign it (and are British or a UK resident), then please do.

DNS have an article here, suggesting the DWP incompetence backing this idea exceeds even usual levels.
 

How much to say thank you?

Eep! Just went over to my GP's to thank them for arranging long distance repeat prescriptions while I was away from home and nearly got charged £85 for the privilege. They've brought in a new parking scheme where you have to type your car's reg into a keyboard in the surgery, or face an £85 parking fine. Only that detail's buried in a wall of text on signs in the carpark, only one of which is at a convenient height to read if you're a wheelchair user, and that's off to the side if you park where I do.

Pure chance one of the signs caught my eye as I was driving out and I had to go back and get the chair out again so I could figure out what it actually said and what I was supposed to do. The keyboard itself is off to the opposite side from the reception desk, so not obvious, and awkward to use as a chair user. I suspect anyone shorter than me won't actually be able to see the button you have to press to confirm your entry.