Green Paper Discussion - includes accessible formats and consultation event sign up links!
Comments
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Maximus is it fraudulent
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stay strong everyone
Thinking of you all
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i thought that
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PIP (Personal Independence Payment) assessments are typically conducted by private companies contracted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). These companies include Maximus, Capita, Serco, and Ingeus, with specific regions assigned to each. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) may also conduct some assessments directly.
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The stress of all this is unbelievable for us isn't it 😔
I've been unwell for the last couple of weeks and now have a Crohn's flare too. I also fell down the stairs ten days ago - cracked some ribs and severely sprained ankle - black and blue all over my body.
I'm pretty sure it was because I wasn't concentrating properly - I can't focus on anything as my mind keeps drifting and I was worrying about stuff as I came down. Missed the rail and slipped .
I was hoping to put my name down for a flat on one level but that won't happen now with the cuts.
Anyway, I've now cost the NHS extra money with ambulance and treatment. This is what they're doing to us and it's just the start. 😢
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Dont worry request a telephone call best to have it now and get for few years other paperwork you can add is letters from family outlining your daily struggles can ask for a SARS form from GP surgery can go back years will have your diagnosis on it a consultations with GP I also sent GP letter says not to but I still did my doctor stated I was mentally unstable I got mine March covers me for few years goodluck
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Thank you I'm in bed worn out I will reply tomorrow I appreciate but I have no choice other than to request paper or phone
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MW, of course they are linked. I haven't suggested otherwise. This is about working-age, disabled claimants.
You don't know what I'm talking about which is fine.
Fight the PIP battle if that's something you know about. How the DWP twisted the Incapacity Benefit/Income Support/ESA reassessment rules matters more than ever or I wouldn't be doing this. What divided the Mental Health community 10 years ago didn't just go away.
YOU are missing the point, now leave me be.
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PIP 4-point rule…
What I'm confused about is why, since I've joined the forum, p*ppy has advised members that supporting medical evidence wasn't necessary for a PIP application or renewal. It was and is. Members are now reporting scores of 2 across various descriptors and not many 4's.
Was she misled by a source, I can't help but wonder? She vanished suddenly from the forum. I am suspicious by nature but everything the DWP has done to date is dodgy. It is a ginormous department and our safety net has been dismantled incrementally under Iain Duncan Smith's long reign in Parliament.
With the advent of AI and move to digital Tribunal appeals, we need to act quickly. Getting those responsible arrested is the best suggestion so far.
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I don't think Labour are going to do well at the local elections. A lot of X users are asking people not to vote for them.
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Iain Duncan Smith introduced ESA in 2008 then 'modified' the qualifying criteria in 2011. PIP and UC were introduced by his 2012 Welfare Reform Act.
Out of the blue, in 2015, he spotted "a fundamental flaw" in the ESA regulations which necessitated yet more reform. Health assessments and reassessments are now conducted under 2016 rules minus a key substantial risk provision. ESA was rinsed by an omission of the all-important Oxford Comma! We were conned.
His 2012 reforms were corrupt. We need to understand the problem to find a solution.
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@WhatThe - neither poppy nor I were 'misled' by a source, namely a Welfare Rights Officer that hasn't lost a single first tier tribunal in the last decade (so he didn't need to take any to an upper tribunal); we both learnt from him (& afterwards calcotti).
He was one for always being factual & giving statistics whenever possible, including that just over 50% of PIP claims were successful with no medical evidence given whatsoever. He found that a claimants own detailed anecdotal evidence was far more important than any medical evidence.
It's perfectly possible to be awarded the daily living component of PIP at either rate just scoring between 1 & 3 points for those descriptors. So how poppy's (& others) advice can be wrong I fail to see, & don't link it to her 'vanishing suddenly' from the forum.
So, I beg to differ with you, & also feel we should stick to looking at this Green Paper. I see you dodged @MW123 's question, i.e. ''What strategies from past mistakes are you finding most effective in your own advocacy efforts?'' But then you usually don't answer questions tho others try to answer yours (as both poppy & I have tried to do so in the past too), & instead you have been discourteous to MW123.
Perhaps you ''need to understand the problem (of this proposed additional criteria of 4 points being needed in at least one daily living descriptor & the impact it will have on many PIP & other claimants) to find a solution!''
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THERE IS SO MUCH HOPE-
Please read :
Yesterday, many of us felt low. I did too-for a moment. But then I reminded myself: we’re not powerless. We have each other, we have lived experience, and we have our voices.We were building real momentum. And just like the nature of some our health conditions, we’ve had a setback -but that doesn’t mean we stop or lose hope.
This green paper is not “reform.” It’s a cruel dismantling of our safety net(our lifeline!). It threatens vital health-related benefits like PIP, UC (LCWRA), and ESA. This battle is no longer just about proposals….it’s about survival. That’s why I’m taking this so seriously. That’s why I’m fighting.
We now have until 30 June to respond.
Let’s email our responses instead. If you’re against these proposals, it may be better to avoid using the official consultation link (Microsoft Forms), which is recommended by the government. I personally felt the way it’s designed-with leading and limited questions-can lure people into a trap, nudging them toward agreement even when they strongly disagree.
Please compare writing this email to completing 3 PIP forms-yes, it’s a lot of effort , but it’s worth it. I’m offering a skeleton guide here to facilitate ongoing discussions . Build on it. Adapt it.
This email should then be sent directly to the official Pathways to Work consultation email address:
Consultation.pathwaystowork@dwp.gov.uk
Please Trust your voice.
(Note: I’m writing this as a disabled person myself. I have no legal qualifications. Like many of you, I’m deeply worried-for myself, my family, my children, and for disabled people both on and beyond the Scope forum. For me, this is a serious cause-one worth fighting for, because it’s about all our rights.)
Step-by-Step: Your Consultation Email Strategy
Subject Line:
Consultation Response: I OPPOSE the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper
1. Open with Your Story
• Say what you live with (physical, neurological, or mental health conditions).
• How long you’ve been impacted.
• What support you currently rely on (PIP? LCWRA? ESA?).
• What these cuts will do to you and your family.
Example: “I live with sensory-motor neuropathy, Adrenal Insufficiency,autonomic dysfunction, Ulnar Neuropathy and chronic pain. I am a parent, and I rely on PIP and LCWRA to stay afloat. These cuts threaten not just my stability-but the survival of my whole family, including my children.
2. Make it Personal and Real
• Talk numbers if you can: How much do you have left after bills?
• What do you skip? Meals? Heating?
Example: “After bills and rent, I’m £180 in deficit each month. These reforms will push me further into crisis.”3. State How You Were Excluded from the Proposals/Consultation
• Did you attend a “public consultation” event? If not-why?
• Were you aware it was happening? Were the questions fair?
• What were your views on the proposals? Could you understand them? Were they clearly explained and inclusive?
“I was never consulted. Events were inaccessible or full. Crucial changes like PIP reform weren’t even included in the questions.”
4. Highlight the Legal Violations
Use these headings and examples if helpful-copy and paste directly:
Equality Act 2010
• Section 149 – No proper Equality Impact Assessment/Analysis .
• Section 19 – Indirect discrimination: Proposals hit disabled people hardest.
• Section 15 – Unfair treatment linked to disability. Everyone’s story will be different, so please explain yours clearly and honestly.
• Section 20 – No reasonable adjustments: Scrapping WCAs harms those with fluctuating/invisible conditions.
• Sections 26–27 – Harassment/Victimisation: Govt language/processes creates a hostile environment.
Administrative Law
• Procedural fairness breached-key changes weren’t in the consultation.
• No disabled-led design or transparent process.
Section 1 – Socioeconomic Duty
• Worsens poverty for carers, disabled people, and single parents.
Examples in Plain Language (Pick 1–2 to include in your email)
Use your own story, but here are some powerful examples I wrote - I thought it might help guide you:
• “I have ADHD and PTSD. No one asked how these cuts will affect me. I was excluded from the process from the start.”
• “I already skip meals. If PIP/WCA is cut, I won’t be able to feed my children.”
• “Being called a ‘mickey taker’, a ‘burden’, and being compared to children getting pocket money publicly -this is harassment, not welfare reform .”
• “These so-called reforms have created barriers and silenced me. I had no real option to explain how this would impact my life. That feels like coercion and intimidation.”
• “The consultation was filled with deceptive, leading questions that boxed me in. It felt like a trap. I was left helpless, alone, and voiceless.”
• “Without WCAs, my invisible condition won’t be understood. A form alone can’t capture the reality of my daily struggle.”
Please don’t lose hope. There’s strength in our voices and the government cannot silence us.Please start preparing your email. Let’s try to channel our anger at the government into action-rather than giving in to fear or staying silent.
As @MW123 said, we are the experts in our own lives. We live this. We know this. There are thousands of us, and together, we are powerful.
Yes, the government is a force-but so are we.
Stay strong. Speak loud. Send your email. Let’s make the Government listen.
We will not be silenced.Disabled voices matter.
In Solidarity ✊7 -
They mentioned to email them if your MP wasn’t on the list. I’ve sent several emails, but I’ve never received a response from DPAC.
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I’m really sorry to hear you haven’t received your ESA payment. They make life so difficult for us, don’t they? I hope it gets sorted soon. It might &be worth checking if there are any outstanding To-Do’s on your UC journal. Take care.
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While my comments are contrevertial, I am not afraid to be heard, and heard I will.
Because I am an activist in many other areas, I now find that where I was able to seperate things like the fight for the NHS and better working conditions, better, training at no cost to the Doctors and Nurses, (and when I say this I mean anyone taking or thinking of taking upp a career in the NHS) (Or care sector.) because even on this one point alone I could write enough to fill this forum.
Who do disabled people depend on to get help for their disability/s? It is the government that decided to join the financial aspect of assessments by the NHS for MEDICAL TREATMENT with the financial aspect of FINANCES as to what we are ENTITLED TO, and what we will actually get AFTER ANOTHER ASSESSMENT BY PEOPLE HIRED BY THE DWP TO GET US BACK TO WORK ORR REDUCE, OR REMOVE BENEFITS, because we have been left with no support from a system they created.
ADD to this people on long term sick, people who have suffered an injury or accident that has altered there normal way of working, this could be at one end the need for an amputation or the loss of sight, to after affects of the Pandemic.
The idea of the "BENEFITS SYSTEM" IS TO support, THOSE THAT NEED SUPPORT. It is not about sending money to foreign aid, or saving one steel plant and not making the effort to save Port Talbot, even if the reports say that the "new" electric Arc furnace may be completed by 2026?
Let me tell you a few home truths that you don't see: The plans for the new Electric Arc furnace have not been approved. They have not even put a spade in the ground yet because the government legislation has not told them how big it can be?
There has only been a rough draft of costing and man power needed to run the "new" Furnace, but in the mean time they have closed the Coke ovens, closed all blast furnace production, and opened another blast furnace in Poland along side the FOUR THEY ALREAD HAVE MAKING FIVE IN TOTAL that could not product the same quality or the same tonnage as NUMBER FOUR ON A TICK OVER, since this was built 1/4 BIGGER WHEN IT WAS DONE IN 2012, and all ancillary machinery including extraction, turbines, fuel efficencies were demolished and replaced with STATE OF THE ARC EQUIPMENT. i KNOW BECAUSE i WAS 1 OF THE 8 ENGINEERS ON SITE. i WORKED WITH HEALTH AND SAFETY and you won't see my name on the accident sheets or records kept during the 3 months I was their, because it was ZERO. No recorded accidents after rewriting the Health and Safety, risk assessments and Method Statements and placing a ring around the plant that every person on site had to be accounted for.
My point, there is nothing you cannot achieve if you sit down and look at the problem and discuss alternatives. Yes in some cases it may need cuts, but this would be because the service being provided DO NOT ADHERE TO THE RISK ASSESSMENTS OR METHOD STATEMENTS.
In our case it is being assessed by a Company/s HIRED by the DWP and PIP to assess financial needs of the PERSON CLAIMING THE BENEFIT. Not only disability or sickness benefits BUT ALL BENEFITS.
We are now being grouped into people (Able bodied) who the system has left unsupported for many years, and their answer to that was to close 800 JOB CENTERS? So who, now, takes the hit for their incompetence? WE DO, because we are easy targets.
The pandemic changed alot of rules, not in our favour, but the government had to be seen to do something. Where are the Nightingale Hospitals now that could have been used by the NHS to geet people out of hospital and into care but not at the same level allowing other people to be treated?
Where was the call for Doctors and Nurses and Care workers to "do their thing" unsupported by the government by being unable to supply the correct PPE WHEN IT WAS NEEDED. Rules were changed to relax the service industry, but now it seems that its time for us to pay the price. Enter Claire Rayner. How do you as an accountant change the legislation for care and treatment for Disabled and long term sick by having an assessment by hired guns?
Why didn't you use this method in the Pandemic?
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Almost 200 Labour MPs have a majority smaller than the number of recipients of personal independent payments in their constituencies!! 🤗
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Do you think they will cry from grief?
😥
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What does this mean?I read it couldn't understand
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