Upcoming changes to benefits
Comments
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As a working autistic person who claims PIP I also feel cheated, because people like me are already doing what the govt want us all to do. Especially as I have had zero support from the state with regard to getting a job. I've had to work lower paid jobs at base level income despite my experience and qualifications so that I can prove myself (most non-disabled people would not have to do this). My disability is invisible, but I feel even more invisible at the moment with all this conflation of benefits and the complete disregard for what PIP is in a working disabled person's life.
Someone mentioned the points and how they are allocated depending on the assessor. I can 100% see this.My mother has been trying to teach me to cook an egg for three decades now, with no success. I can't use a tin-opener, and I am incapable of heating anything from frozen. I can use the microwave but sometimes forget to stir something and put it back on for the second couple of minutes, so I have absolutely eaten ready meals half cooked. My directional issues mean I don't know which way to turn a hob dial or which plates are on when trying to cook food. All of these are obvious safety hazards in my food preparation, and as I was diagnosed as an adult, there had been many attempts to teach me as a child that had failed.
But according to the "autism expert" lady in my tribunal, I was lazy and my parents just didn't bother to teach me stuff. Probably because the idea of an intellectually capable but practically incompetent autistic person was not in her head. Executive dysfunction affects 80% of autistic people but it is NEVER mentioned in PIP assessments, in the paperwork, nor understood by the people assessing. From that tribunal, I was awarded 2 points for food preparation. It was only after my subsequent review that this was upgraded to 4, which is I believe more correct given that I'm clearly not safe to cook unsupervised.
We are all so reliant on the knowledge/prejudices or otherwise of the people making decisions, not enough of whom have lived experience or knowledge of disability.4 -
Do you have a link to the new proposed points system
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Not reputable but nothing is at this stage…
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/people-pip-need-more-points-31207253
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Do you have links to DWP vacancies? as whenever I have looked I have found almost nothing, and just management type roles.
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I think it may of been me mentioning the points in regards to assessors. If these changes come in I will definitely record any assessments and challenge to points.
I understand exactly what you’re saying in regards to cooking . I can’t turn taps on without forgetting and flooding us. My sons now banned me as I’m also hard of hearing so don’t even hear the water splashing . I also get lost in unfamiliar places and get confused with left and right .
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Yep this is right, if they abandon the freeze, that puts more emphasis on eligibility changes, as you said a freeze is far more preferable and reasonable and savings do add up if its multiple years in succession, whilst the losses also add up the same way, you are right in my opinion this is far easier to endure knowing that people wont lose eligibility. The wrong part of it drawn the media attention.
Do we have statistics for how standard/enhanced awards are broken down?1 -
The calculation used is based on a PIP freeze of £5 per week per person. That's £260 a year. We do not get £260 a year extra year on year🤣
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In another thread I used standard daily living as a standard which was was about £8.70 every 4 weeks, but I have no idea what the average award amount is. I also assumed an inflation rate of 3%. January 2025 CPI was 3%.
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This is more like it! £113.10 / yr x 3 = £339.30 saving per person over a 3 year period. You x this number by the amount of claimants
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I assure you for the most part my basic maths here correct
(The only thing is the £5 I’ve used as the average a pip award rises by inflation was used for simplicity - the 1.7%? benefit rise is particularly low and I think only worth about £1.5 a week for pip mobility low end, £2 a week standard care and £3.5 to £5 a week for both elements - usually the rise with inflation would be worth more……..there’s an argument that I should of used £4 in my sums as the average over £5 and I’m sure ppl can divide by 5, then multiply by 4 to readjust my original figures if they want to)
Also you think that only simple addition is required for the calculations but simple algebra is also required
You are adding y+y+y=3y
When it’s actually (because each yr benefit freeze costs more than the previous year due to current yr inflation adding to the previous yr)
So it’s actually you need the following formula when calculating a benefit freeze savings over multiple consecutive years:
y+2y+3y=6y
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I respect your time and effort for the post but again, i am on full PIP, enhanced for both daily living and mobility. I do not get £260 increase every year. I do not know where you are getting this from. Are you getting weeks mixed up with months??
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Yes, I think it was :)
I work in an environment where it's useful to be highly literate and where IT skills are important. But there are also parts of my job that I avoid because of the logistical struggle to complete it, even though they're not considered 'hard' by my colleagues. Fortunately I work in a supportive environment and we all balance each other out - there are other tasks I can do more quickly than some of my colleagues can - but it just shows how blanket assumptions about disabilities are not helpful in working out what someone can do as a job. All workplaces are complex. It's not about 'mild' or 'serious' or 'profound' anything. It's about whether your skills are suited or not.
And if you have a fluctuating condition, even more so. I definitely have days my executive function is worse than others. On those days I am extra careful about how I complete my workload. I am also better in the morning, so I have asked my colleagues to schedule more complex tasks in the morning session, even if it means I often take the busy shift. These are all reasonable adjustments which were decided informally in my workplace among ourselves, because my manager is lovely and my team are great. But how many workplaces are willing to really sit down and do that with each and every disabled jobseeker?I can also only work part time. Right now I work 21 hours a week, which is 3 full days. My bus is so bad that getting there and back is an extra 2 and a half hours travelling and waiting around on top of that. I often get in from work and crash for an hour or more. Many advertised jobs expect full time or are not as flexible as they advertise - which counts out people like me. The most I have ever managed to work is 25 hours. Any more than that causes complete burnout meltdown, which ultimately led to me leaving the position.
This is why they need to speak to us, not to the media or to "organisations" about work.
I have no confidence in people who don't even understand the disabilities concerned to make the right decisions for our dignity or quality of life.4 -
It's the treatment by the system but cruelty asid if they want logic
It doesn't make economincal sense.
Take PiP lots are single the idea was to keep you out of mh hospitals or going in care homes.
Those that are single and need carers they pay them a miniscule amount this save government billions if you add up costs of care support placements which are mostly for profit now so one placement can cost thousands a week .Most mh hospitals are also private contracted and can cost thousands . Thanks to 'Lady' Thatcher taking it out of council run and into private hands who can charge what they like for the worst conditions . It's cheaper to keep people independent at home and Pip gives them a choice.
That's why if you are admitted in an institution for 28 day your Pip stops because it costs them so much money even on nhs.
If they start tightening Pip up anymore and take people's independence away they better get out their wallets because the costs are eye watering .
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why do you think they didn’t go down that route , especially as it’s a benefit for those who work too?
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I've been on enhanced since first applying for PIP; the award goes to 2028.
To keep this short, I handed in over 99+ pieces of supporting evidence(it was even remarked on by the assessors lol)
PIP have scrutinised everything to the nth degree ! -specialist contacts etc.
So with all these changes and the obvious chance of errors in assessments; the overall unfairness in certain cases. How would someone with constant variable symptoms that will never cease; somehow manage the costs of living after their money is reduced ,or entirely cut. How would someone manage to survive?
Especially if they have no friends or family.
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Im on enhanced living and mobility and the weekly increases from 2018 - 2025 are
PIP
LIVING
85.60
87.65
89.15
89.60
92.40
101.75
108.55
110.40
MOBILITY
59.75
61.20
62.25
62.55
64.50
71.00
75.75
77.05
WEEKLY
145.35
148.85
151.40
152.15
156.90
172.75
184.30
187.45
WEEKLY INCREASE
3.50
2.55
0.75
4.75
15.85
11.55
3.15
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sadly I only have benefit rise with inflation figures for 2025/26 year
The dwp wanted to start any pip rise in 2026/27 which there no data for that financial year yet (nor the 27/28 or 28/29 years) - though with everything going on in the world yearly inflation could be much higher than then the % used for benefit up-rating this financial year
I’d love to have the future data so I can give you all more accurate sums (though it may overwhelm some of you if I calculated to the pence
I put my hand up and say I’ve never had training in accounting or being a economist
But my maths skills are pretty solid
Also cpi was messed up in terms of 2025/26 welfare uprating - the state pension got the full 4% rise but reeves/kendall fiddled a bit with the exact dates used in calculating cpi for incapacity benefits (which I think pip is included in that but I’m not sure)
More explanation see below:
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-10105/CBP-10105.pdf
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So it's a total of £163.80 per year increase for someone on enhanced / enhanced for 2025 / 2026
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Then you got those who work and get PIP who will not be able to work adding to the dole queue.
all that tom ake a saving of £6 billion
End up costing around 200 billion.
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They likely avoided that route because reducing a benefit like PIP, which supports both those in and out of work, could discourage employment rather than promote it. Many individuals rely on PIP to manage the extra costs associated with their health conditions whilst working. Cutting it might unintentionally penalise working individuals with disabilities, undermining efforts to make work more attractive and accessible for claimants they are encouraging to give work a try.
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