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@sarah_lea12

I'm 61 too and I had a text saying my pip review is underway.

My current award is due to expire August next year and I wasn't expecting to hear so soon.

I am going request an ongoing award this time and either a paper based award or telephone assessment.

I don't hold out much hope of them agreeing but we can only but try.

I had to report a change in my health , and my review was due and the award end was next March, on the reassessment form it never asked me if I wanted a telephone assessment , but if they look at my form they will see last time I had a phone assessment as I cannot meet people face to face , also now with my hearing loss which is classed as legally deaf I still cannot pick up sentences and my husband has to sit right next to me and tell me what people have said . I've sent a lot of proof in so fingers crossed no telephone or any other type of assessment will be needed . I never knew you could request the award to be extended .

If I get a three year award again , I will request it is extended when it comes to the review so I can get it closer to my retirement .

Retirement confuses me , because we retire at 67 but some of us don't get our pensions until we are 68, but does this still mean we are at retirement age by age 67 or 68 🤔

Thanks for that information , and I wish I'd have asked for a longer award , but at the time I had just had major surgery for cancer and was just grateful for the money to keep paying the bills .

I hope you get the award extended . Also glad we are 67 when pension will be granted .

Catherine, I will send one to her, I agree we have to just keep on doing this, anything we can even if they bin it. Someone in her office has to open and read it so its worth a shot. You are doing fantastic Catherine and who cares if they cant fully understand what you write, I am absolutely positive they will get the gist of your emails 😁

Zipz, you are so right about local businesses, I am housebound ( hate it and not by choice like the media like to think it is ! ) but I do get deliveries from small local cafes etc, really nice meals too, I would starve if not lol, well not quite as my kids do make at least one meal a day for me and bring it round plated and cut up ugh 😤 hate being so blooming dependent on others. Both my Daughters are Nursing Sisters on busy busy wards at the local hospital, they are lovely kids but are in their 40's and have their own lives to live, I don't want them to be here all the time when they should be at home after 12 hour back breaking shifts, they already take care of cleaning and dressing my legs daily. I use local as much as I can, gardeners, taxis etc so yes I will email her, she might reply if only to regurgitate the usual rhetoric. I know for a fact their are quite a few disabled folk who live near me who also rely on these small businesses.

Does anyone know about biographical interviews for UC ? I don’t have passports or drivers license for online ID. Had a horrible man tell me it’s too late I did something wrong so can’t . Now have appointment to go in . I’ve left a message on my school report ( journal) asking but no reply as yet.

They are that good. I've got quite a lot of faith in them. Ellen Clifford from DPAC was the one that went to court to challenge the previous government over their welfare green paper and got it declared unlawful as it was proved that they had only wanted to save money on benefits, it wasn't anything to do with getting us back to work.

Labour are doing a much nastier version of the same thing with their green paper but this time they are putting it through by primary legislation, unlike the Tories so they can minimise the challenge, through the courts by DPOs like DPAC.

It doesn't mean we lose hope though. It could be harder and take a lot longer but I'd be very surprised if they didn't challenge the government as soon as it is possible, using every means at their desposal.

I agree that it is truly shocking that the government doesn't care that we'll be destitute and homeless. There really is no group they have got in in for, as badly as us.

I'm glad I made you laugh! It's my weird sense of humour. 😁 As you can tell, I've got no time for the honours system. 😉

As well as my local MP I've written to my local councillors. I've also done two different submissions to the All Parliamentary Party Group both of which are part of the green paper consultation through DPAC

and I've written a personal response to the green paper consultation.

yes Ellen is amazing. I watched her on Ben claimant. She did say she has things u her sleeve that she won’t go into. Keir starmer actually took Blair’s government to court over benefits for asylum seekers. He won due to the law stating everyone is entitled to food and shelter. Yet the same law he used then he’s ignoring for us . Surely if/when this passes the echr will get involved. Keir loves the echr so how can he ignore them if they claim this violates our rights under the equality act