Proposed PIP cuts already causing harm to people living with SMI
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PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENT DOES NOT CARE.
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I HAVE A FEELING THAT MINE HAS BEEN STOPPED.
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PIP has never been about 'conditions'. It's all about how your life and limitations are being impacted with reference to the various descriptors. Everyone that has the same 'condition' will probably have their life impacted in many different ways and in varying degrees.
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I did say that there must be those that have enormous extra costs due solely to a medical/psychiatric condition. Conversely there must be a similar number of claimants that have little if any extra costs. I don't use any extra gas or electricity, food or type of food. No different types of clothing. Going to a hospital appointment the cost of which is refunded by the NHS. I don't pay for any prescriptions.
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Personally my own personal feeling is that the verifiable level of extra costs someone incurs out of their own money should be part of the PIP assessment process. People would then get the money needed to support those extra costs. Those with no extra costs would not be awarded PIP.
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@Yadnad yeah we all know how it works. Re conditions and help needed,be it from another person daily or weekly costs,etc etc. !
How do we know the numbers who "Don't need pip for extra costs"?? The entire point is in the name... "Independence " whatever that means for each individual. I can't go by my needs for what others need and vice versa.
I know what they are at with asking about aids,extras, be it special food, etc.. I've been in the system long enough to know they'd cut us off at the knees as fast as look at us. They aren't wanting to know to help us!
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@Yadnad Re my and others describing on our Pip forms what help we need,pretty self explanatory. So no need for surveys. It's all in the system. As I stated in my comment further back..IT SAYS ON MY PIP FORM WHAT HELP I NEED THAT INCLUDES ANY EXTRA COSTS.
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I could turn it around and ask how many claimants actually spend the PIP money and of it how much on the help they need?
We don't.
But if the application form was made to request the level and type of help needed along with the cost of that help it would go a long way in ensuring that the PIP money is only being used on verifiable and reasonable expenses incurred.
In my case I would lose all of my enhanced care award as I cannot provide the details of any expense involved. I just feel that what savings can be made this way would be fair on those that don't get enough financial help and their care award would be increased.
I know that I am not the only one with needs but have no expense involved. Three members of my extended family all receive Enhanced Care PIP as well as Enhanced Mobility. The only expense involved in those three claimants is a Motability car each!
One now has very substantial investments as the DLA/PIP care award over the past 8 years is never spent but invested. The second individual is 'horse mad' Their care award goes on the upkeep and maintenance of their two horses plus transport costs to various horsey shows. The third uses their award to pay for many long haul holidays throughout the year - example just come back from 2 weeks in America and will be off again in June to Dubai for another 2 weeks.
Surely you have to admit that the PIP system is broken and abused no end by many.
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You're fortunate.
You live a very different life to most PIP claimants. I'm imagining champagne and cruises in order to compete with your family members' horsey-set and jet-set lives.
You're in your mid-70s, on a state pension (which a lot of disabled people will never see), and have been on PIP for, I don't know, decades?
You think you're sorted because your next (scheduled) review will be when you're 80.
On one hand, you've already stated you're not worried about that review.
On the other, you're panicking about losing the mobility vehicle granted to you by DWP.
Btw, that's the mobility vehicle you either don't drive, or you drive having fraudulently having told DWP you don't hold a licence.
My only hope here is you're just a troll seeking fame from being quoted as 'the genuine voice of disabled people' 🙄 in some right-wing rag.
Because if you're for real, and your joy is derived from tormenting disabled people, you really should not be on this site, far less offering up views on how the majority of disabled people live or their needs.
Happy to be banned for this post.😐️
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Slot of people will go down hill very suddenly very quickly if this comes in and I absolutely feel suicide rates will rocket I hope and pray the four points part gets abolished
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i was talking to my wifes cpn (community phychiatric nurse) and she commented on the effects of this already and that's before anything has been passed.
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That's my feeling too @john1980.
I read a few fora for disabled people.
The amount of devastation this wretched proposal will wreak is palpable.
Whether that's due to funds being removed and/or being forced back into a workplace whilst still unfit for work, it's heart-wrenching.
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It so is and I agree if it actually does get in let's hope it doesn't or people fight it it isn't set in stone yet I don't think!
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Unfortunately @Yadnad seems unaware of the actual statistics surrounding PIP, which may disillusion him from the viewpoint that 'the PIP system is broken and abused no end by many.' Please see:
taking note of section 7. PIP overpayments were 0.4% in the financial year ending 2024 equalling the underpayment percentage (which was mainly due to the DWP making errors when determining appropriate award levels).
I do think we should take especial care on a forum for disabled people in suggesting that there's abuse/fraud where many of our members may have struggled to be awarded PIP in the first place.
The system can certainly be difficult to navigate if you don't understand that it's about your functional ability relating to certain activities of daily living &/mobility & your comment does come across as flippant, & then lacking in credulity when you look at the statistics.
You could do the honourable thing, & if you feel that you (& your family) happen to be in the enviable position of having no disability-related costs say you'd like to stop your PIP award(s) as an altruistic gesture; just a thought.
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I understand your concerns, but I still believe the flaw lies not with claimants, but in the assumptions being made about what “help” should look like.
The PIP system is built on the government’s own assessment framework. They have already calculated the monetary cost of living with a disability through the points system, which takes into account difficulties with daily activities like preparing food, managing medication, or moving around. That’s how the standard and enhanced rates are determined. These rates reflect the need, not just visible or easily itemised expenses.
The idea that claimants should now provide receipts or cost breakdowns for their needs misunderstands what PIP was created for. Many disabilities bring hidden costs, fluctuating needs, informal support, loss of independence, or the mental toll of managing long-term conditions. Not all help comes with a price tag, and not every solution fits into a neat, expense. Some use their award to pay a friend or family member for help, others might save to cover larger essential costs later on. That doesn't make the need less valid.
We shouldn’t judge the system based on a few examples that don’t sit right with us. The vast majority of claimants use PIP as it was intended, to regain some control, cover the unpredictable, and cope with the added strain that disability brings.
The government has already assessed our needs, set the criteria, and determined the financial support required to cover the extra costs of disability. The calculations were theirs, not ours. Shifting the burden of proof back onto claimants is not just unnecessary, it’s unfair. We’ve already undergone rigorous assessments. Asking us to justify our struggles again only undermines the very system they themselves designed and priced.
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