Scotland’s New Disability Benefits System Comes Into Force

One can only hope that this Scottish system will be better than the one for the whole of the UK, but, only time will tell.

The currently system is so clumbersome and the assessments appear to be ‘not fit for purpose’.

Where there is a willingness on Governments there are always opportunities for improvements, but with the UK Government this willingness appears to be not available. They appear to be more inclined to abuse disabled people rather than help them.

Same Difference

The Scottish government has begun taking over adult disability benefits from the UK government.

Until now, personal independence payments (PIP) or disability living allowance (DLA) have been provided by the UK government.

They are being replaced in Scotland by the new adult disability payment.

The process of automatically transferring recipients over is now under way, and the Scottish system is open to new applicants.

Scottish ministers have said that the process of applying for the new benefit will be “more compassionate”.

The changes have been welcomed by disability groups, although opposition politicians described them as “a missed opportunity”.

About 300,000 people in Scotland receive PIPs, while about 39,000 people are in receipt of DLA.

PIPs help people aged 16 to 64 cope with the extra costs they face due to ill health or disability, and are gradually replacing the DLA.

People already receiving either of those benefits will be automatically…

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DWP admits wrongly rejecting disabled people for benefits at record rate | The Independent

Exclusive: Warnings that ‘flaws in the system’ have led to almost 80,000 Personal Independence Payment decisions being overturned at initial review

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Why is this news, especially to the DWP and the Government as from the introduction of PIP in November 2017 they were warned that there were problems with assessments, but they appeared to be blind and deaf to the comments made.

The UN also have advised this Government about their discrimination to persons with disabilities, but the Government refuted this.

Now they have promised £5.4 billion spread over 3 years for health and social care, but this is an insult to social care as it is way insufficient as it should be at least £12 billion, just for social care alone and not spread over 3 years but given immediately.

This Government has not got a clue or just doesn’t care , especially the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Thérèse Coffey MP.

So, it is not just the Welfare benefits that are not sufficient and the assessment processes, but the whole Government attitude to persons with disabilities. Coping with their disabilities and life is more than enough and also for their families, but until you are there you will never comprehend what they have to take onboard and contend with, as if drains the life from you, causing more stress on stress until it becomes, but you have to continue, for there is no alternative, as social care is too a large extent not there and won’t be until it is sufficiently funded.

Many mistakes were made in 1948 with the creation of the NHS and the Welfare State, not that it should not have been created for the creation was great and much thought was put in, but events over years as meant changes should have been made, especially the creation of one body to encompass both the NHS and Social Care. As to have it split means there are many duplications of processes and lack of communications between the organisations on many levels.

Source: DWP admits wrongly rejecting disabled people for benefits at record rate | The Independent

Capita Pay Substantial Compensation To Family Of Philippa Day

At long last Capita have had to pay for their gross misconduct and so should the DWP, and I hope there is more to come, but will it make a difference?

Well, it might, if this is not a one off, so everyone who has suffered at the hands of Capita and DWP should put in claims. But really this gross misconduct should not be occurring, is it too much to ask for Capita and DWP to put their own houses in order, well that depends on whether the gross misconduct was deliberate or done by accident, I know which one I believe so no change and gross misconduct will continue until they learn that when they do, it will cost them.

Same Difference

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Capita have paid ‘substantial’ compensation to the family of Philippa Day, a single parent who took her own life after she was told that she had to attend a face-to-face PIP assessment in spite of her anxiety, depression and agoraphobia and in defiance of pleas by her CPN. It is believed to be the first such payment made by a DWP health assessment provider.

Ever since her death in 2019, Philippa’s family have been fighting to make the DWP and Capita admit their role in her death and to change the way vulnerable claimants are dealt with.

In a call the DWP tried to prevent the coroner making public, a clearly very distressed, sometimes crying, Philippa told a DWP call handler she was “literally starving and cold”, “genuinely can’t survive like this for much longer”, was “in…

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275,000 DLA Claimants Still Waiting To Be Forced To Claim PIP

With the state of PIP, it may v be good that there are so many waiting to be forced to apply for PIP.

DLA was not that great, but many feel it was better than PIP.

What a shame that the UK benefits system is thought of in this way, when these benefits are essential for the claimants to live, reasonable lives.

The benefits system needs a complete overall to make it more user friendly, but are Governments best placed to do that, well certainly not this current Government.

Same Difference

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Over 7 years after personal independence payment (PIP) was first introduced, there are still 275,000 disability living allowance (DLA) claimants waiting for the letter to drop onto their door mat telling them it is their turn to be forced to apply.

Justin Tomlinson revealed the figure yesterday in answer to a parliamentary question. He also made it clear that only slow progress is being made in assessing remaining DLA claimants:

“In July 2020, we started to resume some activity on reviews and reassessments where it was possible to do so safely and without compromising the delivery of new claims and change of circumstance cases, which remain our priority.”

You can read the full written answer on the parliament website.

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Capita PIP Assessors Slam Employer And Claimants

PIP Assessors and Capita, well what can be said, claimants have said much about them and a lot is not good, so are the assessors doing payback to claimants.

But benefits are a very emotive subject, as many claimants are coming at a time of great need, so any problems could well cause comments from claimants, no matter how or not justified there are.

But, assessors are supposed to be professionals, well they are being paid to do a job of employment and therefore it is very unprofessional to make adverse comments at all about about claimants, let alone on the various media outlets.

Similar could be said about assessors criticising their employers, Capita, but, I feel Capita are big enough to take it.

With all the various criticisms of the benefit system, Capita and to some extent Atos and some assessors, should this benefit and others still be maintained in the private sector.

I believe not and it should be transferred in-house to the DWP, who may not be any better, but then they could be better.

Will the Government do this, well it appears not and it looks like they are not prepared to mention why.

Is it because they do not wish to admit failure, when it is staring everyone in the face, or are there other reasons, which we could only speculate on.

Whatever, it is and there could be many reasons, it is apparent that the benefit process is not ‘fit for purpose’ in many respects, but not all as some claimants could well be happy with their outcomes, but are not as vocal as those who are not.

The benefit process is in dire need of improvement as are many other areas this Government has meddled with, lets not mention Test and Trace. Oh, too late I have.

This Government needs to put many actions in place to improve many areas, but are they up to it, well that is the question and currently it appears the answer is NO.

Same Difference

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Assessors allegedly working for Capita have given a string of 1 star reviews for the company on the Indeed website, slamming long hours and unpredictable audits. Some warned of a lack of care or compassion for claimants, but one former assessor calls claimants “aggressive liars” and “supposed invalids” whilst another claimed that they had been “physical and verbally abused” and had a claimant “stork” them.

The reviews all appear on the Indeed website and we have no way of knowing whether they are all from genuine current or former employees of Capita. But they go all the way from the present back to 2014 and it would be very surprising if Capita had not taken action long ago if they believed they were bogus.

Dissatisfaction with Capita clearly goes back years and it seems that a switch to telephone interviews since the…

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PIP Assessments Now Being Audio Recorded

This appears to be good news for claimants with regards to ATOS, but not so with regards to Capita.

The recommendation for people to make their own covet recording is also sound advice for it will also be evidence if the recording do not match.

Referring to Capita, surely the DWP should make this part of the contract and if, Capita do not comply then they should be removed as authorised agents.

The more that can be done to make the process more transparent the better.

What would be even better is to cancel all the contracts with Atos and Capita and any other outside agencies as soon as possible, then we would only have to contend with the DWP, which alone is more than enough.

The whole benefit processes need to be more user friendly and based on a person-centred approach, rather than a system approach.

Same Difference

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

 

IAS (Atos) have begun recording telephone assessments for personal independence payment (PIP) Therese Coffey, secretary of state for work and pensions, told the Work and Pensions Committee on Wednesday 30 September.

Coffey told the committee that IAS had begun recording the assessments on 21 September

“But that has not yet started with Capita. That is under, I can assure you, active management to get Capita going quickly on this”

This means that claimants can now ask for a copy of the audio recording of their assessment if they wish to challenge the decision or if they simply want to have a copy for their own records.

We’ll be updating the PIP guide later this week and the latest version will include a simple Subject Access Request you can send to request a copy of the audio recording.

We don’t know when…

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Is DWP Failing To Send Out PIP Review Forms?

This is unbelievable, well it should be, but this is the DWP, a Government department dealing with welfare benefits and therefore it is believable.

For the system to not have the ability to record not only when benefits need to be reviewed, but also the need to have a system of issuing review forms, for this can not be expected to be the responsibility of benefit claimants.

Many of these claimants will have many disabilities and may not have the capacity to remember, for this should be the responsibility of the DWP.

Again, it is a major problem with the benefits system, which needs to be righted without delay.

Same Difference

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Fears of another DWP mess are growing as Benefits and Work members tell us that they have not received a PIP review form or a further extension of their PIP award.

The claimants are all within six months of the end of their PIP award and would normally expect to have received an AR1 review form.

One member, posting on the forum, told us that their PIP was due to end in January but they had not received a review form.

On the moderator’s advice they contacted the DWP and were told that if they had not done so their PIP would have stopped in January, as there was nothing on the system to say a review form should be sent out.

Another member in the same position also rang the DWP. Within a week they had received a review form which needed…

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PIP Claimants Wrongly Accused Of Failing To Return PIP Forms

Again and again the DWP say one thing and then do another, but take the attitude that they are never wrong.

The DWP and that means the Government need to realise that they are dealing with people and not inanimate objects.

They should be transparent and honest, but this is a Government department and unfortunately it is a miracle if they are.

It is not as though not owning up about being wrong will cause no lasting damage and harm, for it will.

The DWP are ruthless in instigating sanctions and once a persons loses a benefit, it can not be reinstated when the wrong has been admitted.

Yes, the claimant can make another claim, but the loss of benefit income will not be regained and even worse, if a Motability vehicle is involved. For once the vehicle has been returned it can take months to obtain another, thus causing much distress to the claimants.

The DWP and the Government need to come into the real world and not play with the feelings of claimants.

Same Difference

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

The DWP has mistakenly been sending out letters to PIP claimants telling them their PIP has been stopped because they failed to return a review form, the Disability News Service (DNS) is reporting.

Back in March, when the pandemic first began, many PIP claimants were told that they did not need to return their PIP review form and that their claims would be automatically extended.

However, it appears that last month an official at the DWP did a check for late return of forms and sent out letters to an unknown number of claimants telling them that their PIP had been stopped and, in some cases, that they had to return their Motability vehicles and might have to repay some of the money they had received.

One claimant who received a letter told DNS that she had originally been told by the DWP…

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COVER UP: DWP destroyed reports into people who killed themselves

Time after time the DWP have shown they can not be trusted and now is the time to put things right.

The DWP should be thoroughly investigated and taken to task.

Severely disabled woman denied PIP

You hear one benefit scandal story and you feel it can not get worse, then you hear another and another and another…. and realise that it can.

It is not just in respect of PIP, but ESA, Universal Credit and any others.

It is not, just, that the PIP assessment process is ‘unfit for purpose’, but the whole benefit process no matter which benefit is involved.

I feel this Government will not rest until all benefit claimants are forced into death, so that no benefits need to be paid because all possible benefit claimants will be dead.

The Government needs to be charged with undertaking Criminal Acts in their dealings with Benefit Claimants.

Benefit Claimants have Human Rights, but these are not recognised by this Government. If these actions were being conducted by any other persons or authorities the charge could be Terrorism, so why not this Government.