How likely are PIP vouchers now labour are in?

One thing I would like to see ending are Healthy Start prepaid cards being used on everything.

Since it became a contactless Mastercard, its difficult to police for shop workers than when the parents had paper vouchers. As you don't see the card (plus from the back it looks like any other bank card). I was in Iceland last month and saw a card on top of the card machine. It was a HS card belonging to a young mum with 2 kids - 18 months and a newborn, who was in front of me. She bought 2 packs of 4 cans of cider. Should only be used on formula milk (from birth), fresh, frozen, tinned fruit and veg (with nothing non FnV added) and plain cows milk.

PIP reforms/vouchers dead in the water for now. Government will not be taking the Tory plans any further.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/pip-vouchers-proposal-dead-%E2%80%93-at-least-for-now

The Benefits & Work website is reporting that:

We confirm that this week’s DWP oral questions in the Commons provided not a scrap of new information about personal independence payment (PIP) changes or UC migration ...

We discover that the DWP are increasingly likely to give in to claimants before a tribunal hearing takes place.

So, no news about PIP; and confirmation that if you are ever turned down for a PIP award, it is really worth it to (a) lodge a Mandatory Reconsideration and Tribunal Hearing, and (b) seek guidance and help from sites like Benefits & Work (and here on MN).

I really hope not I am staggle ATM so I hope not

I’m a disabled person with a life limiting condition plus depression and adhd so for me or us as a family since I got severe brain damage we used pip aids like wheel chair bath chair commode frame adapted cutlery I don’t think voucher scheme would work many I struggle prosess understand things as part brain damage spoken launage and written but it depends what vouchers could be used on as if people already had aids they needed help daily life I think it would leave a lot families struggling as cash can be used anything bills food etc

But there’s a big difference between “didn’t qualify after means testing” and “rich”. Surely it’s more like “everyone who has less than X needs an extra payment”, so everyone with X+1 all the way up to X+millions doesn’t get the help.

I hope you are right, I really do.

I really doubt the single person discount will be abolished. Westminster could only abolish it in England as Council Tax policy is devolved. It would be a terrible look for Labour to make England worse off like that.

That's what it ostensibly is but in reality, pensioners who are not rich, just a quid over the limit for pension credit, won't get anything, and many find pension credit a concern to claim because of the long form, finding all the things the form says they need, and the risk of the effect a change in their information could have on them.

None. Vouchers cost a fortune to administer and are subject to fraud, with selling them on. 🙄

The budget will be discussed in October, but there has been nothing in the lead up regarding PIP or vouchers. The press will be all over it otherwise.
I am more worried about the single person CT discount being removed.

Hopefully nothing comes

@Jess199677 try not to worry. There has not been an announcement about PIP so far.

I thought they voted to stop giving government supplements to pensioners who didn’t qualify after means testing? Surely we don’t need to be paying for those who can afford to pay for themselves?

So it cud happen

I'm not so sure, now. They recently voted to steal from pensioners. They seem to be trying to be Tories.

Any updates on it. I'm getting worried

Unlikely, thank goodness

Yep, and the National Audit Office estimates that £££billions of benefits go unclaimed every year.

"This includes £870 million worth of PIP payments being underpaid, alongside £750 million in Disability Living Allowance. The majority of this is due to ‘unfulfilled eligibility,’ which means people not claiming what they could be."

Of course they're not going to look too hard or meddle too much with PIP, when these are the hard financial realities. Makes more sense to fix the NHS first and set up some genuine (not gimmicky) joint working programmes with job centre plus-type one-stop shops.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pip-dwp-benefits-news-claim-disability-b2584198.html

Sonu think it will happen I'm so stressed

@Lammarammma I agree, the only meaningful way to reduce the benefits bill from disability and long term sickness is to reduce levels of ill health and enabling those that can work to be appropriately employed by employers that can support people including making reasonable adjustments for disability. The previous government seemed to focus particularly on those not working due to mental health problems, so logically we'd need to see a massive investment into mental health services to properly support people (and even then, of course there will be some whose mental health cannot be improved enough to work). We'll see......

I hope they put money into meaningful support of disabled people rather than more unworkable and punitive systems that do nothing to prevent or support disability.

Welfare costs are increasing because of the above. If Labour wish to follow the Tory path - they will end up in the same predicament.

Ignore the media. Stop reading newspapers and watching the news. I've pretty much stopped watching the news because it was so depressing

I'm on pip just getting worried as I seen alot off media saying it been confirmed

@Jess199512 in relation to any changes to PIP, nothing will happen until the results of the consultation have been reviewed and government makes any announcement based on that. No one can answer you on how long this may take. Personally I think the vouchers idea won't become reality.
In terms of ESA as a long term sickness benefit there will probably be some plans announced to reduce numbers on ESA and "encourage' people into work, although quite what this would entail is unclear.