First of all for those of you who don’t know what the DLA is, it is the abbreviation of Disability Living Allowance. The Government has launched a consultation to replace it as a new form of benefit called the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The DLA has nothing to do with the Carer's Allowance but it is a vital benefit for disabled people, as it provides tax-free financial support for disabled people if they have care or mobility needs – it is not related to their ability to work.

If the government replaces the DLA carers will be affected directly as they can only claim Carer's Allowance if they are caring for someone who gets the Disability Living Allowance or the Attendance Allowance, which will not be affected by the proposed new changes.

The major carers associations in Britain accepts that the DLA should ne revised and some elements reformed but it is not in compliance it should be replaced by the Personal Independence Allowance. A lot needs to be clarified before it is replaced, for instance no assessment has been published on how the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment or the £1 billion reduction in the DLA budget would affect Carer’s Allowance claimants. Imagine families who rely on these benefits losing carers and disability benefits.

Carers UK, Britain's biggest and most influential Carers association is calling other carers, disabled people and other groups to have their say in this consultation. Here is what they suggest you can do:

All you need to do is write a quick email to the Government at the address below, including some details about your circumstances or, if you are a local group, case study details of a carer you support, and state why you are worried about these proposals. Here's what to write in your email:

1. Say who you are and who you care for and that you are very concerned about losing Carer’s Allowance because the person you care for might lose their benefits

2. Explain why you are worried (Do you think the person you care for is at risk of losing their DLA? Do they have a condition that changes and a medical professional might assess them on a good day and fail to take account of the worse times? Do you care for someone with a mental health condition or a learning disability which you are worried might not be assessed properly by a medical professional?).

3. Explain what impact losing Carer’s Allowance would have on you (would you be worried about paying your basic bills, or affording to do anything for yourself, or would it mean caring was unaffordable for you and you couldn't carry on.

4. State that you believe the Government should not be making cuts of £1 billion to disability benefits because of the devastating consequences it could have for disabled people and carers like you.

5. Say that it you believe that Carer’s Allowance must remain outside of the Universal Credit. Carer's save the UK £87 billion every year with the care they provide and it would be wrong to take away Carer's Allowance from some carers by means-testing it, as this would leave some carers without any recognition of their contribution.

Email this to the Department of Work and Pensions at consultation.dlareform@dwp.gsi.gov.uk (or David.Doherty@dsdni.gov.uk in Northern Ireland) and send a copy to your MP (you can email them by entering your postcode into www.writetothem.com).

For more information visit: //www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2010/dla-reform.shtml