So they want to replace PIP/DLA money with vouchers?

[moneyinthebinthatsmrtim]

I don't understand it. It is really worrying me.

This payment helps pay for so many things. I doubt these vouchers would cover that, or give the freedom to shop or buy from where you want or need to.

I included DLA because it's really just the child's version of PIP. Eventually, my profoundly disabled child will be an adult and will have to be on PIP

Is there really any truth in this? I can't see any articles directly quoting Labour or Conservative. I might just be in such a worry that I have missed that bit

Apologies if there is another thread on this too. I am happy to get this one taken off if that's the case

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pip-disability-benefits-plan-rishi-government-critics-b2537209.html

Oh god. Another ableist PIP bashing session. Don't you people get bored of trotting out the same old crap?

DWP's own figures show that PIP fraud is less than 0.5% of claimants. The system works and claims to the contrary are ideologically-driven.

IAmNotASheep
Why should one demographic be exempt.

Disabled people aren't exempt. We've had nothing but overhauls of the system for a decade. And we are still the must underprivileged group most likely to be homeless or out of work.

This - when I filled in the forms, I also sent copies of reports and medical letters from 3 different bodies, and reports from her former 6th form. I was doing it for my child, but even then I found it invasive. Every statement I made, every qualification I made, was evidence by the GP, Adult MH Service, psychiatric reports - as I’ve been very efficient at making sure that the really bad days are reported/documented. We also had a home visit/interview to assess my suitability to be my DD’s nominated person in all the paperwork (I think the report from this was what meant I got an assessment call expressly stated to ‘avoid having to put my DD through the trauma and stress of an assessment interview at their offices), 40mins drive away. She had been monosyllabic, visibly pained to have to speak to a strange man in our home, no eye contact etc. It was excruciating.

The process has taken nearly 9 months so far and although we’ve unofficially been reassured we will have an award made, we still have no idea when we might receive it or the precise amount. Tbh, I think they could save money if they made the application process easier. They will have to backdate her first payment which is already likely to be in excess of £4.5k.

Yep I much prefer the way Scotland is dealing with things.
And as it’s lead by GPs, some posters would be reassured there is no scam going on 🙄🙄

That’s why vouchers are being looked at.
Vouchers that can only be used to pay for certain things for the disabled persons needs.
Hence no receipts.
Im guessing ( there’s no clarification from any party and I haven’t seen any current info ) that high value items or equipment over and above vouchers would require receipts. That seems only right.

Do people really not see with all the evidence available that the current system is just not affordable.

Its those projections that have set in motion the need for an assessment of the system.

Do people really think it works at the moment and for future generations!

Which means that the disabled person is no longer in charge of deciding what they need.

This disabled person can't buy extra annual leave through AFW and is now off sick with stress and suicidal ideations. Someone else decided what I can and can't have and now I'm ill as a consequence.

And you want to roll something this inflexible out to PIP claimants.

I use DLA to pay for a class from a small business for DS - would you expect them to go to the hassle of administrating a voucher?

I have used some of his DLA to pay for an annual pass to one of the few places he feels safe - would a voucher system deem this ok?

a voucher system will still be expensive to administer and will come with judgement about how people are living. Would you be happy with someone telling you how you could spend your money?

Do people not see that targeting the most vulnerable in society is not the answer.

are people really ok with the idea of making life even harder for people with disabilities?

No idea
Thats the fine print.
Perhaps ask your MP

Thankfully my MP is human and has enough empathy to realise that any sort of voucher system is inhumane

It’s about making the system affordable and relevant.

Why are people so against the Government assessment.
If it doesn’t work it needs fixing.
Other countries are doing similar.

No idea what party they are but Labour and Conservatives ( others no idea ) support the assessment Green Paper it’s been in the making well before the GE announcement.

So many posts boil down to 'we can't afford you'.

Anyway.
Im off to work, crack on Mary 🙃

And yet no one will entertain abolishing the triple lock and overhauling State pensions, even though the State pension costs over five times what PIP costs.

It's the State pension, not the current PIP scheme, that we cannot afford.

How do I afford the high value item I need in the first place if my pip is now vouchers?

Good luck finding companies who are happy to take vouchers.

How do we fix it? We get people seen more quickly and effectively by the NHS, CAMHS, ACMHS and any other body involved in diagnosis, treatment, support. We reduce waiting lists for ASD/ADHD assessments and similar so that support can be put in place (social, educational, pharmaceutical) at the earliest possibility. We broaden community support services so that there are people to reach out to who can help with all this, so that there are cheaper access to disability devices that can be rented/bought on HP or lease hire so people aren’t trying to find £10k for a fkn wheelchair. We stop worrying about the money we’re spending on PIP and focus on more efficiently spending it in the NHS/Social services.

My child was on the waitlist for various MH issues for more than 5 years before she aged out. She had dropped out of 6th form due to being unable to cope with it - she was already ADHD with associated anxiety/social phobias but had undiagnosed ADHD for which she has been on a waitlist for 3yrs by the time she aged out at 18. The day she turned 18, she could finally be assessed using adult criteria (ie not need the 360 review of teachers, who at 6th form didn’t know her from Adam as her attendance was so poor). She is now 19, spent a year trialling multiple ADHD meds until finally finding one that seems to work - all privately paid for by bank of dad - and is hoping to return to school/adult education in Sept.

She has lost 2 years of her life. The damage this has done to her self-esteem, MH and the way she views her ADHD/ASD is immense. A timely diagnosis at 14/15 could have meant she was able to better cope with 6th form and might have been at uni/working PT like her friends. Instead she has spiralled downward and now NEEDS PIP/UC as part of the strategy to get her back on track. At uni there is incredible disable student support, the stuff that she should have access to in the community now. But we’ve had to fight for it, for her.

It’s not about the PIP payments, it’s about the lack of funding everywhere.

Sorry - that was a frustrated rant…

You keep saying that it doesn't work. It works better than the French system for the disabled people who need it.

The whole voucher scheme thing, is nonsense, and would be so complicated to administer, as to render the idea, a non starter. I wonder how much is being spent on these consultations alone. Are they getting people living with disabilities sitting around the table, actually being heard, in person, not on paper, which could go astray, be ignored.

Basically yeah, it's "fuck off and die in a corner, crips, just make sure to do so quietly" all over this thread.

They could save money by assessing people properly meaning 70% don't have to go to tribunal and win? They could also stop reassessing people with long term health conditions.

How sad. Says it all really.