Scope's reply to the governments planned concessions to the green paper.

Thank you 🙏. I just received my pip review form so I gave that to sort out now . My only recent treatment was physio but that was a bit of a weird situation and I don’t think I even had a letter of discharge and my GP didn’t get one either .

I like your posts and agree. There will be something that can be manipulated so they get what they want in the future. I definitely don't believe existing claimants are protected. Well, may be up to your next review. I know a young man that has just lost his PIP (Enhanced both elements) and a parent the Carers element this week. Regardless of what is voted through, the zero points or reduced points that has gone on for years will continue.

The new social proposal doesnt have fixed tiers, which I think is better, I need PIP support, but I could adjust to what I get being reduced and if it meant some other person did not lose eligibility with the money saved, I could absolutely live with that.
The benefit system as a whole has this problem, a rigid award system, only housing benefits are properly tapered to needs.

The word "fair" is usually emotional not rationale, not fair on taxpayers, lets forget that almost everyone is a tax payer for the moment, but more to the point if they want to talk about fairness, is that people who are fit and healthy who can work and have a more fulfilling life are actually the lucky ones.
My sister recently made a comment to me, after I told her I need to lie down to rest my legs, "I wish I could rest but having to go work", my reply was "I wish I didnt need to rest", then offered to swap lives and reminded her she wouldnt be able to go out to see her friends, be housebound when she is a people person, no parties that she likes, no more trips abroad she likes, and she then accepted my point, for now of course, it will be forgotten in some weeks.

Even disregarding the social security tantrum the parties are having right now, it is clear this country has a cultural problem with taxation, no one has the balls to do what is needed which is to raise taxes proper, high income tax, higher NI, more on petrol, wealth taxation, junk food tax, we just have a huge obsession with not wanting to raise taxes due to a fear.

There is currently only one party worthy of my vote, the greens. But we have a awful voting system, which is assuring right wing politics thrives.

DWP PIP changes have not been officially scrapped as yet

Parliament voted on the Labour Party government’s so-called Welfare Bill on Tuesday 1 July. Predictably, the bill passed. In fairness, Labour only got it through by 75 votes – which, given its majority, is a huge embarrassment for it. It seemed to go through partly because most MPs don’t care about chronically ill and disabled people. But it also passed partly because of government amendments to it, which seemed to calm some Labour MPs. However, in a storm during the debate the government announced it was scrapping all the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) changes entirely:

Yet in reality, this is not the case – despite the corporate media reporting it as such.

DWP PIP: not Labour has not scrapped the changes

As the Telegraph reported:

Changes to the eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) have been removed from the legislation pending a review, in another concession to backbenchers.

Under the proposals, claimants would have needed to score a minimum of four points – which measure how hard they find it to perform tasks unaided – in at least one daily activity to qualify for Pip from November 2026.

Currently they need to score eight points to qualify – but these can be spread over several tasks.

Sir Stephen Timms, the disability minister, had been set publish a report at around the same time as the change was due to come into effect, prompting warnings that the reforms would “put the cart before the horse”.

But in a dramatic intervention in the Commons on the eve of the crunch welfare vote, Sir Stephen confirmed the findings of his review would come out before any changes to the Pip system were made.

It is no longer certain that the proposed change, which had sparked fury from Labour MPs, will ever be introduced.

Sir Stephen told MPs: “Others across the House during this debate have raised concerns that the changes to Pip are coming ahead of the conclusions of the review of the assessment that I will be leading.

“We’ve heard those concerns and that is why I can announce that we are going to remove the Clause Five from the Bill at committee, that we will move straight to the wider review, sometimes referred to as the Timms Review and only make changes to Pip eligibility activity and descriptors following that review.”

However, even though Timms announced this policy change on the hoof during the debate, some MPs were quick to point out that technically, nothing had changed:

That is, the actual Bill that has been laid before parliament still has the DWP PIP changes in it. So, this gives Keir Starmer’s government room to bring back these cuts if it wants to. Even the Tories were pointing this out during the debate. Shadow DWP minister Helen Whatley called on the Speaker to intervene on this very issue.

However, the government has not budged and the Bill in its current form it still now going to the next stage in parliament.

What happens to DWP PIP next?

So, what exactly will happen with the DWP PIP changes?

Well, there is nothing stopping the government reintroducing the changes. There is also nothing stopping the report Timms mentioned (the so-called Timms Review) from recommending the four-point rule.

Moreover, it is currently unclear what disabled people will be involved in the Timms Review. If it is charities such as MIND and Scope, then opposition to government changes will be weak – as these charities often fail to properly represent disabled people. MIND, for example, has historically had paid contracts with the DWP.

So, DWP PIP claimants are still none the wiser as to whether they will see the government cut their benefits or not – regardless of what the media and politicians are saying.

Moreover, Apsana Begum MP summed up the real issue anywaThe deserving and undeserving crips

The focus in recent weeks from both campaigners and MPs has very much been on DWP PIP cuts in the government’s Bill. Of course, this is an easy target to focus on for MPs looking to improve their reputation and win over disabled people.

Celebrity voices speaking out about DWP PIP cuts sums up the issue. Claimants of this benefit are the more acceptable face of disabled people reliant on the DWP. They often work. They’re often not working class. And they’re the kind of disabled people MPs can openly support. They’re the inspirational disabled people TV likes to show us.

In reality, the people hardest hit by the government’s Welfare Bill will not be the celebrity DWP PIP claimants. It’s going to be the chronically ill Universal Credit claimants, and those living with mental health issues, who will see their Health Element either frozen or cut – when they’ve already suffered years of cuts previously, and already do not have enough to live on.

However, these people are not the striving disabled people the media has been showing us. These are the scroungers that are costing hard-working tax payers too much. Therefore, who cares if they get hammered – as long as the deserving DWP PIP claimants don’t?

This tactic worked, as only 49 Labour MPs ended up rebelling against the government and voting for the Bill – a number that is half of what it was just days ago.

But fear not. There’s always the Assisted Dying Act if it all gets too much for chronically ill Universal Credit claimants.

Labour climbdowns over DWP PIP are not a win for anyone – not when so many people will still be irreparably damaged by the rest of the government’s malicious Bill. Spineless MPs don’t care about this, of course – because it is ultimately not them who is going to suffer.

Featured image via the Canary