Disabled claimants not told benefits wrongly cut | Universal Credit Sufferer

Minister for Disabled People, Sarah Newton MP gave a statement on the 20th of December updating the House of Commons on the progress of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). What seems to have gone largely unreported is that at least 4,600 people who were found to have incorrectly lost their Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in 2017, still haven’t been contacted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The Minister was updating MPs on how decisions from several legal cases that have affected the disability benefit, are now being implemented. From her statement it’s clear that the DWP are doing their best to delay making payments to those who’ve lost out.

She gave an update on the progress of implementing last Decembers High Court ruling that found the PIP assessment guidelines for mental health conditions was discriminatory.Out of 140,000 identified cases, 1000 have been repaid so far. The reason for the low number was due to “the complexity of the process.”

 

Source: Disabled claimants not told benefits wrongly cut | Universal Credit Sufferer 

People with disabilities SHOULD fear losing benefits because they’re too active. Even cancer patients can’t get them | Vox Political

People are encouraged to do all they can to improve their lives and are then penalised for doing so. In many of these instances it is the benefits they receive which enable them to participate in the wellbeing activities and when these benefits are withdrawn due to their increased wellbeing they go back to how they were when they had not undertaken the wellbeing tasks, therefore they then have to go through the benefit process again.

Is this not ridiculous?

Yes, there are persons within the benefit system who should not be there, but these persons are more likely to know their way through the system and still retain their benefits, while genuine claimants fall by the wayside.

It is these non-genuine claimants, the real scroungers, that should be caught in the system, not the genuine claimants and the scroungers will be minimal in number and not the majority which the Government and the media tend to imply.

sdbast

https://voxpoliticalonline.com/2018/10/08/people-with-disabilities-should-fear-losing-benefits-because-theyre-too-active-even-cancer-patients-cant-get-them/

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A DWP minister just dropped some shocking figures then ran off for the weekend | The Canary

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) minister chose to release some staggering figures during the afternoon of Friday 20 July; essentially dropping them and running off for the weekend.

The DWP: sneaking things out on a Friday

Minister of state at the DWP Sarah Newton was responding to a written question. It came from Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people Marsha de Cordova. On 9 July, Cordova asked:

how many people with epilepsy who were in receipt of Disability Living Allowance [DLA] did not receive an award as a result of a reassessment for personal independence payments [PIP]…

Newton’s response on Friday 20 July was shocking. She said:

Since the introduction of… (PIP) a total of 6,330 decisions on claims with an epilepsy condition listed as the main health condition have been made as part of migration from… (DLA) to PIP. Of these, 3,380 did not receive any benefit award at the initial assessment and 1,120 of these people subsequently appealed their decision. Of those who appealed their decision 870 cases were settled in favour of the claimant.

Translated?

This means the DWP denied PIP to over 53% of people living with epilepsy who previously had DLA. Moreover, of the 33% of people who appealed after the DWP denied them PIP, a massive 77% of people ended up being given the benefit.

Glossing over

In a seeming attempt to gloss over these figures, Newton claimed:

Under PIP, 29 per cent of working age claimants with epilepsy recorded as their primary disabling condition receive the highest level of support compared to 6 per cent under Disability Living Allowance when PIP was introduced.

 

Source: A DWP minister just dropped some shocking figures then ran off for the weekend | The Canary

A ‘senseless and unfounded’ DWP policy is causing harm to claimants and costing the NHS millions, says a charity | The Canary

A new campaign by the charity MS Society is calling on the DWP to scrap a “senseless and unfounded” policy that’s harming claimants and costing the NHS millions.

The 20 metre rule

MS Society represents people who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is a “condition which can affect the brain and/or spinal cord”. It causes a wide range of symptoms, including fatigue, trouble walking, numbness, muscle stiffness / spasms, and problems with balance.

The charity’s campaign is focused on scrapping the ’20 metre rule’ which governs access to the mobility component of the PIP disability benefit. A press release for the campaign seen by The Canary states:

People with MS have been increasingly losing vital support since Personal Independence Payment (PIP) began in 2013. The biggest change has been the introduction of the 20 metre rule, used in PIP assessments to determine eligibility for the higher rate of mobility support. Under the previous benefit – Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – the measure was 50 metres. Now, if you can walk just one step over 20 metres, roughly the length of two double-decker buses, you won’t qualify for higher level of mobility support. Under DLA 94% of people with MS were receiving this higher rate but this has fallen to just 66% under PIP.

The charity has also released a campaign video highlighting the callousness of the 20 metre policy:

 

Source: A ‘senseless and unfounded’ DWP policy is causing harm to claimants and costing the NHS millions, says a charity | The Canary

Girl, 11, with twisted spine and one lung has disability benefits axed ‘because she attends mainstream school’ | DisabledGo News and Blog

A mum whose young daughter has a twisted spine and only one fully functioning lung claims her girl has had her benefits stopped because she ‘has some mobility and goes to a mainstream school ‘.

Charlotte Ormrod, 11, has double curvature scoliosis, which means she struggles to walk and relies heavily on a wheelchair.

She also has a deformed hip and ends up in hospital regularly due to a weak immune system.

Since her diagnosis last year, Charlotte has been admitted to hospital 12 times due to problems with her lungs, her mum says.

But following a reassessment by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), Charlotte has been told she’s no longer entitled to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for her personal care, Chronicle Live reports.

Julie, 44, claims one of the reasons it is stopping the benefit is because the youngster attends Albany Primary School, a mainstream school in Washington, Tyne and Wear.

Julie said: “I’m absolutely disgusted.

“She is entitled to that money. I’d maybe understand if it was an adult but she is just a child going through this.

“They said she was not entitled because she has some mobility and goes to a mainstream school.

 

Source: Girl, 11, with twisted spine and one lung has disability benefits axed ‘because she attends mainstream school’ | DisabledGo News and Blog

Even Children are Denied Disability Benefits

More than 220,000 people score ZERO points in disability benefit assessments : Welfare Weekly

New statistics show that more than 220,000 people have been awarded ZERO points when assessed for the disability benefit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The shocking revelation has led to accusations that disabled people “are being written off” by the UK Government, causing “great distress” to thousands of the most vulnerable people in society.

Figures show that during the last 18 months alone, more than 220,000 people have scored zero on both the care and mobility components of the new disability benefit, which is replacing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for all working-age adults.

The figures also show that around 180,000 people have been denied PIP when transferred from DLA, despite being eligible for support under the old system, with

 

Source: More than 220,000 people score ZERO points in disability benefit assessments : Welfare Weekly

Charity condemns ‘broken’ disability benefit system

Sanctioned for not being able to sign on on bank holiday Monday. Tears, frustration and rain.

The poor side of life

Today’s demo started rather hurriedly and to be honest I didn’t know if I was coming or going. This feeling was amplified because it was cold, rainy and my daughter was a bit fed up. understandable of course. But she soon settled down into our usual routine and all was well.

We are seeing a lot of new faces due to Stalybridge Jobcentre shutting. They don’t know us and what we are doing, and we don’t know them or their situations either. So we have to start from scratch, which at times isn’t easy.  But it’s a whole lot harder for them.

I started a conversation with a man who had been previously attending Stalybridge Jobcentre for his appointments. The first thing that he said to me was that he couldn’t believe how rude the front desk staff are at  Ashton Jobcentre, and how rude some of the advisors are also…

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‘The fatcats keep the money and us lot get nothing!’ Theresa May is berated by voter over cuts to disabled benefits during election walkabout : Daily Mail.

SUBSTRATUMS

• Prime Minister was given rough ride during walkabout in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Cathy told Theresa May that she was struggling and wanted benefits reinstated
• Mrs May also taken to task over Help to Buy scheme being available to wealthy
• One voter told PM she was ‘best of a bad bunch’ and May said she was ‘flattered’

Theresa May was berated over cuts to disability benefits today as she went on an election walkabout in an Oxfordshire market town today.

The Prime Minister was confronted by Cathy Mohan, who has learning difficulties, during her visit to Abingdon.

The furious voter told Mrs May that the ‘fatcats keep the money and us lot get nothing’ .

But Mrs May insisted the government was trying to focus the limited money available on those ‘in the most need’.

Read more : Daily Mail.

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