Disability Benefit Cuts - Take action before July 9th.
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I'm in the group who do not trust Timms one inch.
His statement around the inclusion of the word 'constantly' was worrying. He mumbled about it not being a change. It is a change.
What Timms implied when he said, paraphrasing here, the constantly element will only apply to the task attempted when a person with a severe condition is in a regression phase of their condition i.e. in regression they will be constantly unable to complete a task.
I think most conditions are variable to greater/lesser degrees. It seems to me Timms is cherry-picking the conditions he considers to be variable, and will be applying the 'constantly' requirement to all other conditions, which very few people, if any, will meet.
For myself, for example, I can leave home once in a while with someone with me. Even less frequently, I can go out to, say, an ATM on my own when the roads are empty or I can go to my local butcher when he opens at 6:30am and no-one is around. That means I am not constantly unable to leave home whenever I attempt to do so - which is I am unable 99% of the time I attempt to do so, but not constantly unable.
In short, I believe the use of the word 'constantly' was deliberate, and will be taken literally by assessors under DWP instruction. If it were not deliberate, they would have used 'consistently', rather than 'constantly'.
His statement around co-production was even worse, imo. Rather than confirm every participant in the review would have the right of veto, he said the Review would operate on a basis of consensus. That means the make-up of the Review Committee will be key in this. If it's top-heavy with compliant Labour MPs they will ride roughshod over our representatives.
I feel just about everything he says is said with a forked-tongue, and MPs walked into his trap.
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Sorry Zipz, my head is mush and I cant remember where I read it now ugh and cant find it because I have looked at so many links. All I remember is something about the green paper bill itself could not be certified as a money bill but the outcome of Universal Credit bill has been ? That's what I read, it might all become clearer tomorrow hopefully 😊
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Yep exactly, just a play on words as I wrote when I hammered my keyboard earlier 😁
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DIdn't Timms say the majority engaged and represented in the review will be disabled people and disability groups? I think that was another concession.
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Hi Dav1d ,
Does this mean as long as you fit the descriptor criteria you’re eligible for scc for pip and lcwra and you don’t have to have symptoms constantly but most of the time ?
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I think the Spinal Injuries Association are upbeat about it. However I wish a shared their enthusiasm. I don't trust the government one bit. I predict they'll sneak something through to do with ESA without much challenge. My concerns are what will the new descriptors be for PIP coming down the line. One thing is for sure it won't be to our advantage. Sorry I don't mean to be downbeat tonight.
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I think we need to record every assessment so they know they can’t lie . Don’t even rely on them recording as they played a trick on me last time.
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I must have missed that! Assuming he did say it, and he honours that statement, then that's good news.
I'm afraid I just don't trust him. I think he's slippery, is adept at playing semantics, and has his eyes firmly set on a seat in the Lords.
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I'm getting overwhelmed trying to catch up on what's been happening.
But has anything else been said on diagnosis only accepted if by NHS doctors? As in them reconsidering?
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Hi YogiBear, I feel the same way. They are determined to claw back/save money from welfare cuts and they will one way or another. I believe the descriptors will be altered and they wont be to our advantage. I have felt it all along, all assessments will be made much more difficult, the criteria/threshold will be changed upwards and a play on words will be used. When that happens we will be stuck with it as the powers that be will say, ''well we have the Timms review/consultation, we spoke to the disabled blah blah'', lets see what they actually take onboard from said consultations. Its still all one big ploy in my opinion.
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Sound familiar ? 2019 ! I posted about this in March when the merged assessments in the Green paper were announced and will now still go ahead. The DWP/Gov at the time were to carry out a small scale test/study on a select number of areas in the UK to see how merging the two assessments faired, what the outcome would be and if it would work. I have brought this up now because I never did find any evidence that this small scale study was conducted.
This was the response at that time to the above from Disability Rights UK. It still rings true today.
SCOPE hosted the event above, first link. I am just wondering if SCOPE has access to historical data re that small scale test of merging the two assessments ?
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Hi, I'm still not fully understanding what everything means...Could someone tell me what happens to me in my situation.
I get LCWRA, Was awarded this in March 2024, This was to be reviewed within 12 months, As of yet I e not heard anything. Will I lose this come next year?
Pip wise I get standard mobility, Daily living I scored 4 points so didn't qualify for that. This gets reviewed June next year, Should I try again for the daily living element?
Thanks in advance for any replies
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Hi SS,
I believe that is what it means yes.
That is certainly almost definitely what he seems to be saying. Short of any retraction.
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This is on the gov website. So if you are waiting to be moved to uc , do you fall as new claimants who get less ? Also what do the clarify as severe conditions
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Err, actually no, I take that back, according to Latest on UC and PIP bill as Labour gets through third reading
Severe conditions criteria
There have been no changes to the extremely hard to meet severe conditions criteria as set out in the bill. These will come into force for new claims in April 2026 and will decide whether claimants receive the higher rate of the UC health element and whether they are subject to reassessment..
Timms did seek to reassure MPs claiming:
"The severe conditions criteria in the bill exactly reflects how the functional tests are applied at present. That is in guidance. It’s being moved in this bill into legislation. It does take account of Parkinson’s. It does take account of MS. Because people need to meet the descriptors reliably, safely, repeatedly and in a reasonable time frame. And so I can give a very firm assurance to those who are concerned about how the severe conditions criteria will work for those on fluctuating conditions.
"The word constantly here refers, as I said in my intervention earlier, to the functional criteria needing to apply at all times, not to somebody’s symptoms."
We consider this reassurance to be disingenuous. We’ll be writing more about this in the near future.
So, looks like Timms and Co are lying, trying to pull a fast one, sharp practising sharks, and wideboys, were in government we can do whatever we want, in comparison to you plebs in every other industry and profession, your rules dont apply to us etc etc..
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I was going to ask if someone would look closely at what Timms said and break it down because to me that part stuck out like a sore thumb, the way he worded it/the play on words as always seemed ambiguous. unclear to say the least, it really struck me but I couldn't put my finger on why.
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I think most of us have more than one diagnosis really. If I just had fibromyalgia I may be able to do more with painkillers, though right now I have to limit them due to other conditions. It’s thevME fatigue that’s the worst thing .
I don’t even know what changes they’ve won tbh . The only thing is the reduction in the health element for new claimants. But it works out about the same as legacy esa so I’m not sure why it’s so important now than it was for esa .0
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