Upcoming changes to benefits
Comments
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Had similar years back I handed my notice in boss was really belittling me and bullying so I lost my mind harassed her round the clock phome calls the lot got arrested I'm a good person but like millions when my mental health pushed I'm like a caged tiger they really need to do a risk assessment on all of us and it could lead to big health and safety issues how are you feeling today
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yes I’d like to know what Ellen thinks about all this and whether she plans legal action. I imagine she has to wait for the green paper release. There is a video of her talking about the court case on YouTube. I think she mentions to possible cuts .
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Yeah the disabled community gets duped very easily, sorry to say.
The eligibility change is by far the worst out the lot as the cuts are focused on a limited set of people who lose "ALL" their support. This will be the cream of their plans and there is no news on that being dropped.
Next biggest is the LCWRA cut as its not a freeze its an actual cut in the headline amount. People who lose PIP whilst also getting the LCWRA cut will be mulled to death. Also this is particularly bad for those who dont also get PIP.
The PIP freeze is an easy thing to drop, as it only had short term effect, the LCWRA and PIP eligibility are the big problems with long term consequences.3 -
Have the same suspicion myself.
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Its very misleading its just the PIP freeze. not the eligibility changes.
Freeze doesnt matter if you no longer qualify. As you getting nothing.
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surely it can be fought in court ? Ellen Clifford won her case and the Tory green paper wasn’t as bad as this .
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Deleting my search history, seems to have done the trick. My entire homepage has been wiped completely, got a clean slate.
Recommend everyone else does this and just watches things that they're interested in.
Thanks, Kimmy.
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No idea, one of the reasons I want to get in touch. If a plaintiff is needed I will volunteer. But my assumption is the PIP consultation given that it was far worse than the WCA consultation, could be challenged successfully. The descriptor changes the press are claiming, were in the PIP consultation, its possible they are guessing based on that, and the actual changes could be different, but we do know some kind of eligibility change is planned, and logically without a new consultation they will use something from the consultation.
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Why Target pip when it's a none means tested benefit
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There are rumours that the PIP freeze has been cancelled. That's all they are though, just rumours. We'll know more when the green paper is released.
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I've a feeling they'll still hugely reduce the amount of folks on benefits via a back door policy. Which is the only way i could ever see this working. I really do think people currently awarded will keep their benefits in full.
And they will target the young people just coming out of education and direct them onto work schemes/training. That is the population that has really caused claimant numbers to soar. Young people with no physical disabilities and no cognitive disabilities who have become very unwell mentally due to difficulties with their home and education circumstances.
There's a plan put forward in Scotland to take these educational failing young teens out of school at 14yrs old and get them skilled up for work.
So i think it will be much, much harder once Labour have got their policies passed through for young new claimants to get any award at all on mental health grounds unless they have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or another diagnosed mental health issue that prevents them from taking up any kind of work that could earn them a living.
I can't see how any money will be saved though as any schemes to help support our young folks will take major investment extending into the social sector. Housing, poverty, families in crisis and breaking up all impact a child's outcomes.
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I'm sick of the government and media pushing this nonsense about freezing Pip, we all know it's just a ploy to make out theyv'e listened to disabled people and will not go ahead with it. The main things that will affect us are changes to eligibility to PIP and LCWRA as we could lose hundreds each month. It's really angering me that they hardly ever mention these refroms on tv etc and are focussing on benefits freezes, big deal, what's that about 40-60 quid a year? apologies if I'm wrong!! I think the most anger is coming from those who like myself suffer from mental health issues, and the language surrounding this issue, like we'll be okay if we get a job, like we've only got a bad cold or something.
These reforms will not work, you can't target a certain group pf people by saying they are less ill than others, it's total discrimination and mp's are trying to get the public on their side by making out we're lazy and putting it on. In years to come this will be the new post office scandal when it's announced hoe it's affected peoples mental health, and the already rising number of deaths due tp the DWP. 600 deaths alone last year, many of those took their own lives because they could'nt take anymore of a system that persecutes them on a daily basis.
We must all stick together on this, don't let them divide us by saying one person is more worthy of financial help than another, we all suffer in many different ways, it's very easy for someone to judge you when they have no experience of it themselves, thinking of, Reeves, Kendall, Starmer etc, they should be ashamed of themselves, but sociopaths and psycopaths don't feel empathy so not much chance on that front!!
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A couple of things occurred to me reading through the leaked material.
Making it necessary to have 4 pts in a criteria to qualify is in itself not an issue to me - what is a bigger issue is how unsuitable these criteria are and how they already omit several elements of disability experienced by those who they most want to cut out. So someone with a MH diagnosis may have 2 points on, say, five of the existing criteria and thus qualify. But there's probably other elements that are not included in the criteria on which that person might merit 4 or 6 points. And as an autistic person, it's not fit for purpose, either. It's what some able-bodied people in a not very well run govt dept have decided, not actually representative of disability diversity as we know it to be today.
If they want to change the qualification level, fine, but change the criteria to apply across all disabilities, too. There is still a massively physical-disability-centric bias both to the form and the assessment process which is why so many autistic people struggle to get PIP in the first place. When I went through my DLA-PIP claim and had to go to tribunal, I was at university and my mentor at the time told me she had several other students in my position who were unable to deal with the stress of the appeal process. The impact of the DWP's appeal process on me has not gone away even after eight years - because how my body processes emotion and stress is not the same as someone not on the spectrum. As soon as you mention this, however, they try to push it into the anxiety category, and in my case that delayed my claim by a long long period. They're not looking at the people they're assessing in the right way, with the right criteria. (I could sidetrack here to say that most organisations are the same re autism, especially if you have no cooccurring intellectual impairment).
There is a reason why autistic people are shut out of work, disadvantaged in school and university settings. All of these things impact employability at a fundamental level outside the autistic person's control. To clarify, I do NOT see PIP as 'compensation' for my disability, as the Tories claimed - I see it as an enabler for other services (as someone up the thread mentioned ) - my railcard etc relies on it, and I can't navigate so I need bus pass and railcard to get around, even though I am able to walk.
I just get fed up with the constant onslaught. My experience both myself and the two years I spent working with autistic students is that we are much much more sensitive to atmosphere, stress and uncertainty than those not on the spectrum. And for me, having just navigated the work restructure and kept my job, now I am back to dealing with this and it feels endless.
Another thought I had was that the government keep talking about online safety and social media doing more to prevent abuse. Yet we have endured not only the last several months of state-sponsored media backed abuse and misrepresentation, we have been dealing with it for years. The last time they cut benefits they framed us as lazy and fakers as well. And it's not just in the media, but it greenlights abuse on social media, the ableists come out of the shadows to share how they KNOW for a FACT that most of these disabilities aren't real and are just playing the system.
So if the govt is so committed to reducing online abuse, could it maybe begin by reducing its level of abuse towards us? I have yet to see a single article in which a government minister involved in these discussions has even spoken to a disabled person. Not even one. It's as if they think we don't vote.5 -
Yea if this goes ahead I can feel compensation coming on in years to come. After a 5 year investigation and another 5 years to pay out
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I'm waiting to find out how much my Universal Credit is going to be cut by or even if I'm going to be ineligible - this is unbearable. I have severe mental health problems and cannot work at all at the moment. My anxiety has increased ten-fold, I can't sleep or eat and there are so many unanswered questions.
Will those suffering from mental health issues who can't work still be eligible for incapacity benefits?
Are existing claimants going to be reassessed?
How much is Universal Credit going to be cut by?
I have a law degree from Manchester University - if there was any way I could work at the moment I would and I assure Liz Kendall that I'm not taking the mickey. Life has been unbearable but the benefit has been a lifeline. I don't know how I will cope without it. Do they really think these measures are going to help people like me?
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"new system will require applicants to score at least four points on at least one activity to qualify.
Those who meet this threshold would need another four points to qualify for the lower rate of payment. An additional eight points would be needed for the higher rate, too, it has been reported."
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for me needing the 4 points for one question is a problem because in my experience with assessors they give points according to how empathetic they are . With my conditions pain spreads making it difficult to answer their questions. I had written that I couldn’t wash above my waist and other times below too. My assessor ignored what would have awarded 4 points to give me 2 . So if you get a bad assessor and you can’t wash above the waist that should be 4 Points but if they ask can you wash your hair and you say no that’s 2 points if I remember correctly. So in my case I was awarded the lower amount. Next time I will be recording everything.
I also think the forms aren’t flexible enough and maybe there should be a separate form for MH and neurodivergent claimants . But obviously same amounts of award.
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I wish the media would stop saying Autism is a mental health condition it is a neurodevelopemnt condition. Autism is a whole spectrum some people have it and are able to function but some have it and mutism and are not able to live independently and function on their own. It is the broad brush they are using to basically say Neurodivergent conditions and Mental health conditions will be targeted, again with mental health some have mild anxiety and depression and some have completely debilitating anxiety and depression rendering them housebound.
People with Autism and ADHD are more likely to also suffer mental health conditions as a result of their disability but that is true of everybody who is disabled, being ill does make you more likely to also suffer depression, in my case just from being in pain daily it does take a toll on your mental health.
I am physically disabled and I agree we all have to stick together as if they come for one group they will eventually come for us all.
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Some people have mentioned Ellen Clifford she is part of a group called disabled people against cuts ( DPAC )
They have information about protests and what they doing to get organised if anybody is interested. If the link doesn't work then just type in DPAC and I am sure it will bring up the correct page.
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I see Streeting is doing a Miliband and now an expert on every medical/disability out there.
The entire point of PIP and one of the reasons people with Cancer were refused, its not what's wrong but how the condition/disability affects you.
Try talking Long Covid Wes, the legacy of a pandemic they openly said was handled horrendously, Top consultants are now reliant on Benefits having lost everything.
Many local health boards do not even have long covid clinics and wont even mention the condition. Reid off GMB summed it up perfectly on the BBC earlier, If Starmers plan is to fund Ukraine via taking money off the weakest in society, good luck getting a 2nd term.
They have alternate routes but as she pointed out it seems Starmer likes taking the easy one
the one he knows provides the least pushback. Had he spoken like this during he Leadership contest He would not have won and I very much doubt Labour would have got the Numbers at the last Election. It seems since the Election actually maintaining trust has gone out the window.
Another person summed it up perfectly last night, Who or what is "severely" disabled
do they mean those with the severely disabled premium or another new set of criteria ?
If they knew the damage they were doing would they even care?
I spent the night being sick and my hair falling out in clumps I still feel so betrayed as a long term Labour Voter and once former Member I will never trust them again.
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