Green Paper Discussion - includes accessible formats and consultation event sign up links!

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  • Tumilty
    Tumilty Community Member Posts: 488 Empowering

    Yes I got that call too out of the blue and was in total mind fog. They take no consideration how our health affects random calls.At least you get a letter and form to fill before dragging you in for assessment. So sorry your GP is not good

  • charlie72
    charlie72 Community Member Posts: 259 Pioneering

    Going by what your saying if I'm correct, apologies if I'm wrong!! you believe they can drag you in for a face to face assessment before youv'e filled in your review form? First of all they can't assess you before you have filled in your form, that's what the form is for, to see if your condition has changed, i.e you might have gotten worse/better.

    Your GP is correct in what she told you, DWP/PIP do sometimes contact them to clarify points you have made on your review form. If your GP has written evidence for you that a face to face assessment could cause you undue further harm, either physically or mentally, you have a right to ask for reasonable adjustments, i.e, a telephone, or paperbased assessment. They absolutley cannot make you, or as you put it, drag you in for your assessment as it would break the equality act 2010. Sometimes these forms from DWP/PIP can be very confusing, hard to understand, and make you very stressed out,and confused.

    I was the same on my last review last year, I rang the PIP helpline and they were actually very helpful once I told them my worries and concerns. I told them I'd need either a telephone or paperbased assessment, and could provide evidence from my GP. 2 weeks later I got a text saying my review was complete, and it was done paperbased. Try not to worry too much, I'm sure you'll be fine, hope it goes well for you!!

  • noonebelieves
    noonebelieves Community Member Posts: 705 Championing
    edited April 2025

    Thanks so much for your thoughtful post, @onebigvoice - I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to share your insights with all of us here. I completely agree with your sentiments about this forum - like you, I’ve drawn immense strength, clarity, and solidarity from the lived experiences shared here, as well as from the legal and systemic knowledge others have so generously offered. This space has been not only a source of support but also a safe and supportive haven, as well as a rallying point -a collective call to action- especially in light of this ruthless and dehumanising proposals set out in the government’s green paper.Together, our voices matter, and they must be heard.I just had a couple of questions that came to mind while reading your post:

    You mentioned the : 

     “new elected Senedd Membership we have (I am proud to say I am one)” 

     I wanted to ask, is this newly elected Senedd actively fighting our current cause against the catastrophic benefit cuts set out in the “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper”? I’d love to understand more about how this Senedd engagement is helping shape the fight, especially in amplifying disabled voices and lived experience.

    And regarding your request:

    “To those I have not asked, can I quote with names missing, comments made here of your experiences to a court, if I have not already asked? If the answer is no then don’t reply.”

    If it’s to support our shared fight against these dangerous and dehumanising proposals -or anything closely related to this and uphold your rights - then yes, you absolutely have my full consent to quote any of my comments to help strengthen your argument in court.

    I deeply respect the courage it takes to keep going after a 10-year battle, and I truly hope the court case on Apr 23rd brings the justice and recognition you deserve.Keep doing what you’re doing- your determination and fierceness are making a difference.

    We will not be silenced. Disabled voices matter.

    In solidarity✊

  • sarah_lea12
    sarah_lea12 Community Member Posts: 442 Empowering

    I have an occupational therapist report which details my needs and the aids provided It also says I need a stairlift and low level shower , but has to wait to see if i can get them on a grant from the council dwp have already got a letter from my GP stating my anxiety and depression is from 1973, and proof of my hearing loss and my cpap proof , on the re-assessment form it says not to send that letter again from the GP. I've got letters from my after care cancer team stating I have pain from the surgery , I don't know what more they want from me . I have not improved I've got the 3 conditions now that have been added . The occupational therapist letter will prove everything to them . I hate the calls they make to get you off guard to try and catch us out .

  • noonebelieves
    noonebelieves Community Member Posts: 705 Championing
    edited April 2025

    Hi @jasminehoop, I just wanted to say - I’m genuinely moved by the determination and clarity in your message. It takes strength to channel frustration into purposeful action, and what you’re doing -planning to meet your MP, preparing a detailed letter, and seeking concrete data -is not just commendable, it’s powerful. You are the voice this government needs to hear, loud and clear.
    I completely share your concerns about how detached and sanitised the narrative around these so-called “reforms” has become. These proposals are anything but benign…. They’re  so brutal, vague, and catastrophically out of touch with the reality of disabled people’s lives. They’re built on the same tired logic that frames support as dependency and dignity as optional. It’s totally  unacceptable.


    You asked about:

     “Does anyone know if there's a document going around, or a webpage, that concisely breaks down and lists the ACTUAL impacts of the proposed cuts”-


     I  recommend checking out the DPO Forum England: Benefits Green Paper Explained document 
    It’s one of the few things I’ve come across that really condenses the key threats in a no-nonsense way with some useful statistics.
    There’s also a Carers UK briefing on the Green Paper’s impact on unpaid carers

    and Child Poverty Action GroupShort briefing on Pathways to Work green paper(impact on children)
    -very well worth reading and sharing. And if your condition is supported by a trust or advocacy group like MS Trust or Parkinson’s UK, Mencap(learning disability) etc they often have brilliant, evidence-based accessible resources and campaign updates tailored to your situation.

    I’ve also found it really helpful to read several breakdowns of the Green Paper’s impact, which has allowed me to strategically oppose it directly through the consultation email and to submit my own detailed response, as I’ve shared in earlier posts. I’m encouraging others to do the same- because every individual voice matters, and together, we can show that no matter how hard they try to silence us, we will be heard.


    Honestly, your idea of using a Freedom of Information request to highlight to your MP how many of her constituents are on PIP or UC (LCWRA) is spot on. It takes the fight directly to your MP’s doorstep, backed by numbers and humanity arguments, something far too often missing from political rhetoric. I think your MP needs to feel the weight of her silence and the real consequences of her choices.


    Whatever the outcome,never underestimate what your voice can achieve. You’re already doing something incredibly brave by holding your MP to account and refusing to let this slide under the radar. That’s how movements build. That’s how change happens.
    Let’s keep up the pressure in every direction, on every front. Let’s scrutinise these proposals like never before, expose them for what they are, and show that disabled people and our allies will not be silenced or sidelined.


    In solidarity, and with deep respect for what you’re doing 🙏🏽✊

  • Skyla
    Skyla Community Member Posts: 21 Contributor

    I'm in the same boat as you although I live alone. I'm worried sick as my PIP award is until Feb 2026 and they're supposed to contact you in Feb 2025 for a reassessment. Not had any letter yet but clearly it's due anytime soon and it's leaving me with terrible anxiety day and night as it will mean I will also become homeless if I lose it. I rent so I'm panicking all the time and have no help at all, friends or family. Don't know who to speak to. Can't fave the thought of another assessment as it took 2 years of appealing and only got it in the end thanks to CAB.

    It's just so awful that we are being put in this situation...

  • sarah_lea12
    sarah_lea12 Community Member Posts: 442 Empowering

    I know it is horrible. I phoned the dwp because since my award I now have profound hearing loss and use a cpap machine for sleep apnea , so they said because my review is due it would be faster to do a re-assessment . The form is similar to the original but not as many pages lol .

    They might contact you to say your award is extended .

    If mine is awarded again , I lose the year left as it goes from March 2025. I am also hoping for a longer term as I am going to be retired in 6 years but have to wait until I am 68 to get my retirement ,strange but it is how it is , so could do with a ten year award really to take into retirement then i keep PIP with light touch review .

    I need this pip or lose everything including my house .

  • Topcat71
    Topcat71 Community Member Posts: 194 Empowering

    I am trying to be positive about it all

  • sarah_lea12
    sarah_lea12 Community Member Posts: 442 Empowering

    This is uplifting, but please make your own mind up .

    DWP Whistle-blower Reaches Out – What They Said is Alarming!

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 1,170 Championing
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • sarah_lea12
    sarah_lea12 Community Member Posts: 442 Empowering

    Under five's actually grow and cost more , I really hope MP's will vote against the cuts and just risk their jobs . They work for the people who voted them . I don't think MP's should be blackmailed into voting , this is control .

  • johnnyy85
    johnnyy85 Community Member Posts: 266 Empowering
    IMG_0034.png

    Disabled Labour Members’ Rep Slams Starmer at Secret Meeting of Labour Supremos

  • johnnyy85
    johnnyy85 Community Member Posts: 266 Empowering
  • jul1aorways
    jul1aorways Community Member Posts: 397 Pioneering

    Hi @Catherine21

    I apologise if I didn't explain myself too well. although you didn't understand what was being said in the article either.

    I'll do my best to explain it to you. When an MP has a constituency, that means that they have an area of the country that they represent in parliament.

    Before there is a Local or General Election, candidates from different political parties gather and promote what their political party will do for the local people of that particular constituency.

    Say, for example that Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, Reform and the Green Parties all wanted to represent (or stand at) that constitutancy.

    If Labour won the say, for instance the General Election last year in that constituency, it means that the local people voted for them in greater numbers than any other party.

    A majority means that the number of votes Labour got say, for instance 10 thousand votes and the party who had got the second highest number of votes was the Conservatives with 6 thousand votes.

    That meant that Labour had got 4 thousand more votes than the Conservatives. That is called a majority.

    If they were in a constitutancy with say, for example 8 thousand disabled people who claimed PIP, it would mean that if more than 4 thousand of those people voted against Labour, at the upcoming Local Elections on the first of May, Labour would be referred to as losing their majority of 4 thousand votes which they would do directly as a result of disabled people wanting to vote them out because of the cuts in eligibility to PIP.

    I hope that you can now understand what I was saying in my post and the article. If there is still something you are not sure about, do message me back! 👍😊

  • sarah_lea12
    sarah_lea12 Community Member Posts: 442 Empowering

    I am glad you explained this , because it makes it so clear . I really am not good at understanding politics .

  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community Member Posts: 17,441 Championing

    Hi @onebigvoice - you have always invited comments, which I appreciate, tho I'm sure we will keep on disagreeing over some things! 😊

    Members will also disagree with some of what I say too (even if I also think I'm right, but I'm still a work in progress hoping to learn more)! As you say, that's what this forum is about, so long as such discussions are respectfully done.

    I know you comment because you are an advocate for your friends & other disabled people, which I completely respect.

    Dare I ask if you could say briefly what the court case is about, I'd be grateful, & yes, if I can usefully comment, then of couse I will. poppy is coming down to visit me again on the 23rd too, so hope it's an auspicious day.

    I hope you're keeping well, & still writing some poetry.

  • YogiBear
    YogiBear Community Member Posts: 415 Pioneering

    Tomorrow's Guardian Front Page - 18.04.25 - Ministers scramble to stop Labour rebellion on disability benefit cuts.

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  • noonebelieves
    noonebelieves Community Member Posts: 705 Championing

    An email received from DWP Public Events Consultation Team :

    RE: Booking to attend virtual event-Reforming the structure of the health and disability benefits system (chapter 2)

    Thank you for expressing interest in the Pathways to Work public consultation events.

     

    As expected, we are receiving a large amount of interest in all the consultation events.

    You have now been placed on a waiting list, will be in touch if a place becomes available at your requested event.

    We are still accepting responses to the Pathways to Work Green paper online, the survey can be found atwww.Gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper

     

    Regards,

     

    Pathways to Work events team


    ANY THOUGHTS?……

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