To dob in family member - benefits

No prejudice here.

When it comes to benefits, any type of benefits, not just PIP, there are some that shouldn’t be on them and play the system.

Anyway, if you can’t prove I’m wrong in what I’m saying, then stop replying with stupid remarks.

Why do you think there’s a correlation between rising costs and fraud ? The reason PIP costs have been rising is that unlike it’s predecessor, DLA, it’s open to claims on mental health grounds, which have risen hugely since Covid.

It went to Tribunal and still the Op thinks she knows better!

There's no need for anyone to jealous of the money my friend gets. All they need to do is get a chainsaw hack off their own legs and they too could claim the same amount.

OP says her relative is on PIP. They have been assessed as being eligible after a tribunal.
OP then says her relative is not really eligible for it, and is committing fraud.

Why are people believing the second statement, but not the former?

It is necessary, actually to point out to the OP that she might not be in full knowledge of the reasons why her relative is receiving PIP. They have been assessed, and awarded, and yet she is questioning if he should be getting it, based on what she thinks she knows about his disability, nothing else.

No I don’t @UserFront242, stop making things up.

My point is that the unnecessary and defensive pile on to the OP here perfectly demonstrates why people are reluctant to report suspected abuses. Hence the ever rising and unaffordable costs.

OP's relative has gone through a tribunal to be awarded PIP. What makes you think that anything OP says is truthful? Yet you, and others, seem to think that medical professionals are wrong.

Bloody hell. Given all those crying “spite” and “jealousy” over the suggestion to report what looks like an exaggerated claim, it’s no wonder the spending is out of control and genuine claimants suffer.

For any posters on here indignant at the idea of someone working and receiving PIP, allow me to share my personal circumstances.
Since I am totally blind I require a range of adaptive technology, specialist equipment and personal support to allow me to carry out basic tasks that most people take for granted. Without expensive specially designed phones and scanners, screen-readers, documents in braille, talking kitchen devices, personal assistance and many other adaptations I would be unable to function day to day, let alone get to and remain in work. My workplace covers some of the adaptations I require at work but all the adjustments I require outside of work are entirely funded by me. Without PIP it is likely that I would no longer be able to afford these necessities and I would lose my job as a result, ironically costing the 'hard-working tax payers', of whom I am, in fact, one, lots more cash! My PIP does not come close to covering the many extra costs I incur each month, purely due to my disability, though it does help. As I have to cover a large proportion of the extra costs from my wages I am considerably worse off than someone without my disability earning the same wage, I hope this is a comfort to the posters on here seething in impotent rage at the thought of all us feckless, lazy disabled scroungers living tax-payer funded lives of luxury!

You'd have to be cynical in the extreme to imagine that the pp was indulging in a bit of dog whistling, thinking they were cleverly insinuating that disabled people are unwilling to work without having to openly say it.

Not sure what this has to do with the discussion here to be honest. PIP is not an out of work benefit, not means tested, and doesn’t assess the ability to work. The number of people claiming PIP while in work fluctuates because the ability to work is linked to overall health so people move in and out of work - it can be as high as 27% at any one time and it’s been estimated that currently 41% of new claims are from those in work.

Roughly 17% of those claiming PIP work full time, but this can fluctuate to as high as 27% because movement in and out of work is frequent. It’s estimated that 41% of new claims are made by those in work.

What does that have to do with my post? It does not change the fact that PIP is not an out of work benefit, it is awarded based on need, not on employment status so the percentage of PIP claimants who work is not applicable to my post, which was merely pointing out the non-means tested nature of PIP.

I believe you’re about 1 in 5 people who claim PIP and work.

Exactly this. And when you do point it out you get the inevitable ‘why do you need PIP if you can work’. It’s exhausting trying to get the point across that PIP does not and never has assessed work capability. It’s purely an assessment of physical difficulty in carrying out everyday tasks, which informs as to the likely level of disability related costs that person may have.

The assessment and award process is based on a great deal more than a self reporting system, as has been explained to you. It’s not just a case of sending in a form reporting your difficulties. You have to be prepared to provide evidence to back up what you say and to demonstrate your level of impairment at face to face interview if necessary.

The people doing the assessing are health professionals sourced from the NHS and receive training in the expected effects of health conditions and disabilities. No-one is saying they get it right every time - far from it as evidenced by the numbers of bad decisions overturned at tribunal - but someone who doesn’t know the extent of the claimants’ difficulties, who is not medically trained and has no idea of what is required for a successful claim is far from the best person to challenge a benefit award made by a professional who has all the facts in front of them.

Disabled people’s lives are difficult enough without being afraid to step outside their front door in case someone ‘dobs them in’.

Yes, exactly. At mandatory reconsideration I was awarded 10 points for mobility, and got standard rate mobility.

1. Can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres. 10 points.

I can walk more than 50 metres. What I can't do is walk without pain, discomfort and risk of injury. I have Epidermolysis Bullosa which means my skin is very fragile and tears and blisters easily, especially when walking. It's worse the warmer the weather is. Some days I can walk lots, other days I can barely walk at all either because it's a very hot days or because my feet are so blistered and bleeding. I often have to plan my activities to save my feet, especially in milder weather. It's a minefield planning ever step!

Yep, you are a bad person. Horrible actually.

If someone tells you that they are disabled, then you believe them. Many disabilities are invisible. Someone being disabled does not mean they are on any sort of benefits.
It takes nothing away from you to give someone the benefit of the doubt. You cause more harm by not believing people, and it does come out even if you don't think it does. Subtle little comments can be huge when someone overhears you making them.

Kind of realising the futility of reminding people that PIP claimants and tax payers are not two mutually exclusive groups. It's looking more and more like disingenuity, faux ignorance now.

Well you did do that. And you're continuing to cause damage by insinuating that such a distinction exists and that there are significant numbers of fraudulent claimants.
Why do you have this prejudice against disabled people?

Rest assured that the assessment is based on just more than what people self report.

I don’t have any right to do such thing, and never claimed to have. There are people paid with tax payers money to do this job, and when they are deciding whom to give tax payers money to, I would like to think that the assessment is based on a great deal more than self-reporting. As we know where there is an opportunity for free money, there are fraudsters.

Interesting first thread, as they say