Rishi Sunak's speech

Ralph

It’s more red meat for asylum seeker, disabled you name it, haters. They know they are going to get trounced at the election so they are going all in for their core supporters. If there are elections in your area please vote these awful people out. It used to be the only people who voted Tory are fools and millionaires add in racists and those that hate the disabled.

Ray212

People need to stop panicking, it's only a green paper. It's not even policy no matter what the news wants to tell you. Its a consulation which takes months to do by which time we are likely to have a new government anyway.

While it is easy to panic, it is better to wait and see. No point panicking and worrying about something that may never happen.

If any part of it does come to fruitition worry about it then. I know its hard but I have all but washed my hands of worrying about things that "may" happen.

rebel11

Ray212 said:

People need to stop panicking, it's only a green paper. It's not even policy no matter what the news wants to tell you. Its a consulation which takes months to do by which time we are likely to have a new government anyway.

While it is easy to panic, it is better to wait and see. No point panicking and worrying about something that may never happen.

If any part of it does come to fruitition worry about it then. I know its hard but I have all but washed my hands of worrying about things that "may" happen.

Yes, that is 'true', this is 'electioneering', but there are people, who can't see the 'tree from the bark', that's how the 'Con's' got in last time, do anything, say anything to get in and as 'eggs is eggs' they will.    

apple85

Ray212 said:

People need to stop panicking, it's only a green paper. It's not even policy no matter what the news wants to tell you. It’s a consulation which takes months to do by which time we are likely to have a new government anyway.

Actually the last consultation was for the wca starting in September 2023 for 7 weeks and the dwp published their findings/response to that consultation in November 2023 so if any pip consultation follows a similar schedule of beginning to end of less than 13 weeks I’m not sure that can be labelled as ‘months’ (even if technically it can)

also we may have a new government within 9 months but the majority of dwp staff and managers will remain in place as you only vote on mps, not civil servants!

Lastly everyone should take part in this upcoming consultation - even with an upcoming GE it is certainly not a waste of time and could make a difference 

Ray212

I couldn't care less how long it takes, my point was rather than scouring every last bit of the internet and finding every last bit of information possible then making assumptions from that, should just wait and see.

Don't worry about something until you have something to worry about. Fearmongering is never a good trait

apple85

Ray212 said:

I couldn't care less how long it takes, my point was rather than scouring every last bit of the internet and finding every last bit of information possible then making assumptions from that, should just wait and see.

Don't worry about something until you have something to worry about. Fearmongering is never a good trait

Skimming over your response (where in all honesty I can’t tell whether you are accusing me directly of fearmongering, but either way moving on)

I hope your wait and see position still involves yourself and others to submit a response to the upcoming consultation!

both ‘as you were till an official decision has been made by the dwp’ and ‘forward planning to try and accommodate for the worst’ are both valid standpoints 

but these consultations are still opportunities to change future fate before it even happens

pinkrose

I've just read that not only are these horrible *&^%£#@£ planning on vouchers instead of money, it was also  stated on lbc radio that they are looking  into us disabled people having to 'PROVIDE RECEIPTS' for what we purchase !!!!!!

 MARK MY WORDS this is avery slippery slope and PIP is just the start, they will also look to bring in similar processes for ESA and JSA .

No money will be saved due to admin costs but the tories know this, they know their core voters DESPISE the 'non workers' whether able or not !!!

This is a DESPERATE attempt to gain support in the upcoming election and have the focus on us sick and vulnerable instead of voters focusing on sunaks failure to 'stop the boats', as he 'promised'.

It's a case of whipping up hatred
 and 'look over here..not over there!

The stress this is already causing for pip claimants will no doubt cause worsening of physical and mental health conditions. 
Gosh it makes me so angry ! 

Please everyone...VOTE ! 

Community_Scope

Note from online community team: 

 

Where possible we like all discussions to continue, but we’re choosing to pause this discussion for now so things can cool down and we can review it. This is a topic that affects many of us, it's understandable that there are a lot of emotions and feelings on this topic. They should have their say, but as just mentioned we would like things to cool down a little and give us time to review the discussion. For more information, please read our online community house rules. 

 

We will review it and if we are satisfied the discussion can continue, we will hope to un-pause it by tomorrow at the latest.

Community_Scope

Hi everyone,

We've re-opened this discussion now. I want to give a gentle reminder to everyone that we understand how frustrating and upsetting this can be, but please do not direct that at other members of the community. 

We'd also like to share Scope's statement on these proposals. This addresses some of the facts of the situation and I hope it will help with many of you who are worried about these proposals. It will also end with some actions you can do to help.

I highly recommend you read it in it's entirety.

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Find out more about the proposed changes to PIP and how you can take action.

On Friday 19 April the Prime Minister announced his intention to make changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP). On Monday 29 April, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride published a consultation setting out more details. The consultation will be open for 12 weeks.

Nobody is at risk at the moment. The consultation will take a while to complete and it's unlikely that any changes will be imposed before this year's general election.

The Government has also said it plans to review the ‘sick note’ process. This is the process under which GPs currently sign people off work if they have been unwell for more than 7 days. The two announcements came at the same time, but they address different things. These should not be conflated.

What is PIP?

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit to help with the extra costs disabled people face in life, whether they’re in work or not.

The PIP assessment isn’t intended to assess someone’s capability to work. It’s to capture the extra costs disabled people face in life.

It is not means tested, so disabled people can claim it regardless of income or whether they are working. To get PIP you need to have a long-term health condition or impairment that means you have difficulty doing everyday tasks or getting around. It has to have lasted for at least three months, and you need to think it will last at least another nine months. You also need to be 16 or over and below state pension age, and you do not need a formal diagnosis to be eligible for PIP.

If you think you should get PIP, but you’re not sure, you can look up the assessment criteria online.

What is being proposed?

The Government has said that the bill for PIP is unsustainable and has made some suggestions for reform. These include:

• Vouchers for specific services, instead of cash payments
• One-off payments for home adaptations, rather than ongoing payments
• Asking disabled people to provide receipts for one-off purchases, which would then be reimbursed.
• Changing the criteria and questions that determine whether someone is eligible for PIP. This means some people who are currently eligible might not be in the future.
• Changing the qualifying period for PIP, and the test that determines if a condition is ‘long-term’.
• Directing people with mental health conditions towards treatment, rather than of payments.
• Requiring a formal diagnosis by a medical expert. And focusing much more on what condition you have, rather than its impact on your life.
• Ending the PIP assessment altogether for people with certain long term conditions. This includes people with terminal illnesses.

Why is the Government doing this?

The Government has said that the welfare bill is rising at an “unsustainable rate” and that it is time to reform PIP and other benefits.

The Government claims that there isn't enough flexibility in the way that PIP is awarded. It claims that for some people, treatment and support would provide a better outcome than ongoing payments.

The Government also believes that in some cases, a one-off payment to cover things likes home adaptations might make more sense. And it has suggested that some of the extra costs people face are already being dealt with through the NHS or social care.

What does Scope think of the proposals?

We are deeply concerned by these proposals. It’s hard to have any faith that this consultation is about anything other than cutting the benefits bill, no matter the impact on people’s lives.

We know that life costs a lot more for disabled people, including people with mental health conditions. Our research shows that disabled people need £975 more a month, on average, to have the same standard of living as a non-disabled person.

Threatening to take away the low amount of income PIP provides won't solve the country's problems. Many of the current issues the Government has been speaking about have other causes. These include crumbling public services, poor quality jobs and increasing rates of poverty.

We believe the government should end this reckless assault on disabled people and focus on how to fix the real underlying issues.

How can I take action?

It’s important to know that nothing is changing right now – these are just proposals.

You can let the Government know what you think about their ideas by responding to the consultation.

You can also share your experience with us. In response to the announcements, we created a petition that calls on the Government to stop demonising disabled people. We have now updated the petition to give people who have applied for PIP the added opportunity to tell us what they think about the proposals. If you have already signed the petition, you can sign it again to see the consultation question. We will only count your signature once. We will use your responses to help inform Scope's response to the consultation.

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Please do help us respond to the consultation. If you feel up to it, please do also talk here about how you feel about this, how this could affect you and perhaps even what you think the government should be doing instead of demonising disabled people?