Green Paper Discussion - includes accessible formats and consultation event sign up links!
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As a Comment on how things went in the election:
The reform seem to be doing well…. Why do you think that?
Some voters are not amused with the previous government and the way they were running things, so when the vote came for a change voted Labour in to "help" But even looking at the hipe, hitting the ground running was not what we agreed. Yes there was a need for system reform, but some have to realise that Wales in general is RED alread.
So what has changed:- No winter fuel payments for some that already received it, others not getting it because the "rise" in Pensions pushed them over the threshold of what they could live on.
Have you (the government) forgot what the rise was for? Finally an increase in the Cost of pensioners but in giving them the rise took it back off you in TAX. Have you really thought this through? Yes I believe this was the intention since to look as though you had a rise on paper but as I stated at the time in real terms it impacted on ALL other benefits received by pensioners.
This also applies to any one on benefits of any sort, by increasing the Basic Wage for people of working age, it doesen't take a rocket scientist to see what it actually achieved in real terms to people in their pockets.
So how is all this applied to SCOPE and the people who visit this site……
Yes I can list again the points of what has been achieved against what we have actually gained with BUDGET FIGURES and investments made since in power, but, in real terms ……… To assist the people that they were supposed to help in the first place, REFORM have stated that "each Councillor" each Mayor will be applicable for their own budgets. This is not new but the innitial "orders of what to fix and how to get voters to change has.
It was ability to MOBALISE "troupes on the goround as we have found out by winning a Labour hold by 6 VOTES.
This is your chance to be one of those 6 and make a difference to the future.
By saying that if you don't vote or make your vote known as to whether you support or don't support the changes being made then straight away you will loose my vote.
Why be an MP or AM, Councillor or Mayor if you do not state your intentions before the vote? Any one that has not press released their intention would in my eyes loose my vote.
I do not wish this to be a political opinion, but, support for SCOPE and support in posting issues here allow admin to formulate papers and report that some may not see happening, but believe me as a Member of Scope and the Senedd where we had a vote last year and I became lucky enough to become one of these members, I have combined what I was already doing within Labour, Unite the Union in support actions being taken around the country, the retired section of Unite and pension rights and more importantly with SCOPE, have access our rights as Disabled people, people on long term sick, or people who now find that your PENSION IS BEING TAXED AS UNEARNED INCOME.
If this is the case then as a means tested benefit, I must be entitled to other means tested benefits?
Only one question to ask, Why was my TAX Allowances increased like those who had an increase in the Basic Living Wage?
Sorry guys the thresholds of how many hours you need to work to get U C has not chjanged in line with the increases, so where 16 hours a week would give you "X" amount of earnings which were topped up by UC infact the same amount of hours now gets you a £320 REDUCTION IN YOU UC AMOUINT? (over the month)
So are you better off? I was better off with out there help.
Finally: You need to realise that being one of these six people has changed every thing, so if you want to make a difference and remembering how many votes are held by SCOPE members, by Pensioners, by people claiming benefits, they ALL ADD UP.
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There is also a petition on the Green Paper if people would like to sign it, thanks.
https://chng.it/SZQ87WyHHc
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I'm posting this from the Benefits and Works site for information and it may be beneficial to make our MP's aware of this.
NewsAcademics show Labour is overwhelmingly targeting its own voters with PIP cuts
Published: 03 May 2025
A group of academics from Northern universities and health services have calculated how much income each Westminster parliamentary constituency may lose as a result of personal independence (PIP) cuts. Labour constituencies take 92 of the top 100 biggest losers places, with the North East and North West hardest hit, suggesting that PIP cuts are aimed squarely at Labour’s own voters.
The, report was funded and produced by Health Equity North and carried out by academics from the universities of Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, along with the Northern Health Service Alliance.
Researchers looked at how many PIP claimants in each constituency did not score four points or more for any daily living activity. They then calculated what the loss of PIP for those claimants would mean in total for each constituency as well as what the loss per head of working age population would be.
Researchers found that:
- The ten worst-hit constituencies are all Labour-held, and in “Red Wall” areas
- The impacts will disproportionately affect the constituencies which already have the lowest life expectancies in England.
- They found that the average loss per working age adult in England is £176
- The changes are set to have the greatest effect on regions such as the North East (£269 per working-age person on average), the North West (£231), Yorkshire and The Humber (£206), the West Midlands (£191) and the East Midlands (£185)
- The worst-hit constituencies are in Easington (£409 per working-age person), Liverpool Walton (£403) and Knowsley (£389)
- These three constituencies alone could lose an estimated total of £23.8m, £26.2m and £23.4m respectively per year by 2029/30
In fact, because these calculations did not take into account the possible loss of other linked benefits and the loss of additional elements in other benefits, the actual figures could be very considerably higher.
One of the report’s authors, Professor Clare Bambra, said:
“Those areas that will lose most from this proposal were already decimated by austerity, COVID and the cost of living crisis. They have worse health than other regions and their local services and economies are already struggling. Losses of this magnitude risk worsening the situation for everyone living in these deprived constituencies.
“Parliament cannot risk rushing proposals like these through without fully considering how they affect local areas that are already struggling. We hope that research such as ours gives MPs more context, so they can make the most informed, forward-thinking and economical decision.”
Readers with a Labour MP, in particular, might want to drop them an email drawing attention to this report.
You can read more and download a copy of Local Economic Impact of the Proposed Changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) by Parliamentary Constituency
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Is anyone preparing if they are refused pip saying that all these changes happen.
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I agree - its almost as if they believe that UKs atmosphere remains UK's atmosphere - when in reality - with what India, China and now USA pump out - it doesn't make the smallest hoot of a difference even if UK completely stopped producing greenhouse gases completely now !!
At the expense of £billions - we may as well give up……because what will happen will happen anyway - it's too late to fix.
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I don't think that there is really any preparing people can do. Most of us live month to month so saving money beforehand is going to be very difficult. My husband has started to look to see if there are any jobs going in our area and in his field as if I lose PIP we lose carers for him. LCWRA and also carers element on UC which is over 15K per year. We would have less than £450 per month after our rent is paid as our housing allowance doesn't cover our full rent. I realise I am in a more fortunate situation as I have a partner who could go back to work, I have several friends who are single and disabled and they would not have any option as they are not able to work and would be destitute if they force this vote through and hundreds of thousands of disabled people would be in the same situation, I honestly don't know what the government expect will happen.
Firstly since they are linking LCWRA to PIP it is going to lead to a large increase in PIP claims from people who currently receive LCWRA but don't claim PIP. They will have no option but to claim PIP.
Secondly people who are at risk of losing PIP will do all they can to keep it and will go to tribunals and keep putting PIP claims in as soon as they have any change in condition which may qualify them.
It is going to lead to an increase of costs for the government paying for all of the tribunals and increased staffing to deal with PIP claims from people on LCWRA.
Local councils will be overwhelmed with people needing housing, food banks, not being able to pay council tax will lead to less revenue for the councils and at the same time increased demands of services.
Local GP and mental health services will be overwhelmed with people seeking help, depression is going to get worse, as well as other mental health conditions, increased hospital visits and hospital stays.
I hate to say it but people who feel hopeless and helpless to change their situation may decide they don't want to be here and the government will literally have blood on their hands. I find it hard to wrap my head around how callous they are acting.
There will be many more knock on effects I haven't thought of and I just hope that the proposals will be watered down or some sort of other payment is given to cover people who will lose their PIP and LCWRA.
We will have to wait and see what ultimately happens but try and keep hope alive, living without hope becomes soul destroying and we are all in this together and we will continue fighting as hard as we can.
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I feel you on this 🥺 ....I'm one of those people that is on cbesa / lcwra but doesn't claim pip .....
As things stand , the pip changes that are coming in November 2026 will affect existing claimants and new claimants of pip only after that date
People like myself ( nearly a million by all accounts ) will be reassessed with the existing wca up until sometime in 2028 , when at that time the wca will be scrapped and the new pip criteria will take over for the rest of us ....
All I'm concentrating on at the moment is passing that and then dealing with the pip assessment when it takes over .... Otherwise it's to overwhelming
I'm just praying within that time these proposals are watered down , I also doubt very much starmer will still be in a job by then
It's not just that these proposals are cruel in every form , but the more I try and work out how they will work is baffling to me 🤷
There is no way that these reforms will cause anything else than chaos and hysteria , it will leave people absolutely desperate , that is why there is still a part of me that is quietly confident that not just that they won't go through but in there current state they simply cannot .... They have been so poorly thought out with absolutely no evaluation of the destruction they will cause
Alot has been said about pip but the people in my situation stand to be hit as some of the hardest with the scrapping of the wca and there has been next to no coverage on that
All we can do is wait and hope .... What a truly awful way to live
I never thought I would despise a government as much as Johnson's , especially not a labour government.... But here we are
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Exactly.
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Not surprising at all frustratingly.
It feels quite clear that the powers that be have been planning all this for quite some time.
It just so happens to be this Liebour gvt that are going to be the ones to implement it.
Two cheeks of the same ass as they say.
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this was 2 years ago , I was downgraded from highest mobility which I got back at MR but increased to highest in care . At the time it didn’t make sense , it saved dwp £50 a month but that was the only reason I could think of for the changes. With hindsight I should have fought for the 4 point but didn’t need to as she’d increased the award. But I have it on my review form my answer which was a 4 point descriptor so next time I’ll fight for that . Mind you no matter how long this has been arranged the fact is it’s going ahead on starmers watch . He could cancel all the reforms if he wanted to.
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The knock-on effects to both claimants, councils, and the economy are the very reason Starmer et al are refusing to let MPs see the OBR report in advance of the vote.
They know precisely the knock-on effects mentioned above, and probably even more, but they are grasped by some determination to force this agenda through.
The problem is if (or more like when) it is passed, there is no-one coming to save us when Labour are booted out.
It's the Tories' dream to remove disability benefits but they never had the actual balls to fully attempt it.
Farage is licking his froggy lips at the prospect of unleashing his inner-Hitler in No 10.
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Depends on what they've got on him ;-)
And yes probably most of us, should have been "entitled"to more points in any catagory but usually just accept the underscoring we are allocated despite knowing this,because it's just too stressful too exhausting and too much fear of the risk of losing everything if we try and dispute it.
We are always in kept in a stranglehold of some sort and it's purposefully created that way.
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How can we prepare, any suggestions ?
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Bill Gates & the 'chemtrails'?
I'd like to stop the spread of any misinformation & have been trying to ignore it. With apologies that such comments continue on this thread & elsewhere & are both untrue & irrelevant to the discussions in hand.
I know the majority of our members will read things for themselves to make an informed decision, but this sort of continuing misinformation here needs to stop.
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I don't know how to prepare I sm just scared.Sorry
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While I agree with your comments and that of others, the whole Idea of a discussion is promote ideas and possibly change someone elses view because they were told this or that and they have agreed to it at the time.
Yes I have discussed Flat earth, and that we are having the sun go round us, and that one day we are going to have a meteor hit earth that is going to be of solid gold and make our gold reserves plumit and not be the basis of currency, and that Donald Trump will never get another term in office as long as I have a hole in my shoe.
Well folkes, I do have a hole in my shoe otherwise how do you get your foot in? What you do is design the shhoe to be fit for purpose. Make them slip on, or zipped up at the front, side, back, have no heels or stilletto's. Made from man made materials, plastic, crocodile, or the latest fad by making them from the Skin of a T-Rex that was found in the perma-frost that is still eatable today?
To make a valid point is not about the Tin foil brigade and whether you support that or not since we have the Raving Looney Party in Parliament, but how change can be achieved through discussions "not" wars.
Nigel is now proving this by winning more and more seats, yet a year ago people were calling him a Radical?
In order to go forward in anything, you have to look from both sides and not be afraid to say we made a mistake.
In the news to state that will Keir have to back down and change his plans, is rubbish to me, what he should be saying, which he is, is, that we hear you and we are going to resind some things that are not being reacted to quickly enough or the expected results were not in line with our master plan.
Its not a question of being "forced" to do something but listening to the people on the Ground, the likes of you and me that are becoming a scociety of Money run institutens where budgets and Bonuses set the markers, and reinvestment come as a TAX RELIEF, except when things start to break then its pass the cost onto the people who "have no say" in the matter because we are on the receiving end of every thing except an easier life, now even when you retire.
It all comes under a DIFFERENT HAT, and a different set of cuts.
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There's lots of irrelevant posts on this discussion , but when someone asks a question its polite to answer.
Keep burying your head in the sand it stops you seeing the poison falling on you .
Or start your own thread and we can discuss our theories , because what you said doesn't mean its fact .
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Definitely , so what is your rational thought ?
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