1,000 new PIP claims per day?

[flashbac]

Is this true? (From someone who is naturally cynical of government info.)

If it is, is there something else behind the statistic? Is it because people have to reapply or something like that?

This is from the government website:

"Monthly PIP awards have more than doubled since the pandemic, rising from 13,000 to 34,000 - a rate of around 1,000 new claims per day, or the population of Leicester every year."

I find the statistic unbelievable.

It is not surprising. Most are cancer patients with inoperable cancer. They are fast tracked onto PIP.

It is the fault of the NHS. Even when they know someone has been diagnosed, they are so far behind with the treatment that it is often too late.

It sounds a lot of applications a day. If that is so, I am not surprised. I think it is cheaper than treatment they cannot carry out because too many people are suffering with cancer now. The NHS cannot cope.

These are people who were employed in work they can suddenly no longer do, and have the PIP because they are unemployable. It is a tragedy. The 1,000 a day should be spelled out as to why, then the people of Britain will know just how vulnerable they are to not getting treatment when they are ill.

It is poor compensation. It is quite possible that the PM and his Cabinet have not even considered that so many are cancer patients who cannot be cured.

Mostly it is cancer sufferers who wait so long for diagnosis that they are inoperable when they finally get to the head of the waiting list.

Cancer patients are fast tracked to PIP. They do not have to wait for a decision.

I didn't know that cancer patients are fast tracked to PIP. All cancer patients? Or just those with sadly a terminal diagnosis?

There's some noise about fast tracking DLA for children who have cancer.

I think many of them need a carer to help them access places.

I do not think adhd makes up for so many applications for PIP. In many cases it is compensation for the NHS not being able to cure them or making mistakes.

What we don't know is how many of those applicants are cancer sufferers. They are fast tracked on benefit because they are too late in diagnosis and the start of treatment.

Cancer patients are fast tracked. Shows how many people cannot get the treatment because the NHS is overwhelmed.

So if they are on an NHS waiting list for cancer treatment, you think families can cope with that, when they are no longer employable.

Think how much you earn each month/week. If someone dear to you is diagnosed with cancer and it takes months to diagnose and even longer to start treatment, so they stop working, would you be able to support them?

Cancer patients are fast tracked onto PIP because of the NHS waiting lists. They do not have to wait for a judgement.

They become unemployable. They cannot work if they have cancer and the longer they wait for treatment, the less likely they are to survive.

How many people have enough savings of their own money to keep themselves?

DLA is for children. At 16 they apply for PIP. I suppose if they have been on DLA for years, that change would be automatic? At any rate, those who determine benefits would have a fair idea as to need.

Provocation is the catalyst for debate.

Speech is free.

Nor are NHS waiting lists, and that is all most people have to rely on.

If that number are passed each day, it is because the NHS cannot treat them.

I assume just "have a healthy lifestyle" isn't an answer to most problems

There are many adults still on DLA, because the rollout of DLA to PIP still hasn't been completed. Plus some older adults are exempt from being transferred from DLA to PIP, so still receive DLA.

You have to list all the items on your prescription repeat, which is often a good pointer to how disabled you are.

It seems that most posters think that the PIP clamants are mostly ADHD sufferers.

Cancer patients are now fast tracked onto PIP. They do not have to wait. The NHS cannot cope with the number of cancer diagnoses, but we don't know that, because they don't tell us. They just moan about the increasing numbers on PIP.
By the time people are diagnosed, having been on waiting lists forever, it is very often too late for operation and some treatments, because the waiting lists are high for those as well.

We don't know how many of the PIP applications are for cancer sufferers who cannot work, and suddenly have no income because the NHS cannot treat them. It is poor compensation for those who haven't long to live especially when you think that there is no alternative to the NHS which people have paid into all their working lives, and now, without being able to afford to go elsewhere, all they have is the PIP fast tracked so as not to prolong the agony.

I was diagnosed high functioning autism at 54 on the NHS. I would never dream of applying for PIP as I don't need it.(My needs aren't that significant). I just wish people would be a bit more understanding and more kinder to those of us that do need PIP. I had to take massive amounts of drugs for mental illnesses that I didn't even have for years that made me fat and have high blood pressure. I was so ill. Wrong diagnosis.

I am not sure if all cancer sufferers are fast tracked. I would think there are some whose cancer is caught in time, or is easily treated, as some cancers are.

There may be some who respond to treatment eventually, but while they are undergoing treatment they are fast tracked, because so many treatments are not as successful as others, and some cancer sufferers have several attempts at treatment.

Operable cancers quickly become inoperable because of the NHS waiting lists. I think the debates about NHS waiting lists would be a better debating point than PIP claimants..

I do not know about children. If they are not fast tracked, they should be.

A big problem with coming off benefits and going to work is persuading the employer that you are employable.

If people come off PIP and apply for unemployment benefit, they have to affirm that they are available for work, and very few applicants can do that.

I know about children as my son had cancer. They aren't fast tracked.

We waited 18 weeks for his DLA to come through and during that time he'd had emergency surgery to remove the cancer as it was blocking his intestines, decided he was too unwell to have chemotherapy, several more surgeries, a relapse and then starting chemotherapy.

Unless it has changed very very recently the only cancer patients who are automatically fast tracked are those who have a SR1 (previously D1500) from their clinician to say that their life expectancy is less than 12 months. This changed from 6 months previously.

The diagnosis, and even having chemo etc, isn't enough on its own to qualify.

Other people who have a shorter life expectancy than 12 months can also qualify for the special rules.

People don't have to come off PIP to claim an unemployment benefit as it's not an out of work benefit.

If someone is claiming PIP and not working then they'll either be claiming an income replacement benefit (ESA or UC) alongside it or have an earning partner or savings.

A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with cancer, self employed and had to give up work. Luckily caught quite early but it’s a really aggressive form of cancer, chemo every week for 12 weeks then a different type of super strong chemo every four weeks for 3 months, then mastectomy. I’m sure she ‘s keen to get back to work but reality is she’ll probably of needed a year or so to get through treatment. Was told not entitled to PIP as not terminal/ chemo side affects are debilitating but only temporary. Is getting some Uc for just now.

Also the waiting for claims under the special rules when I volunteered with CAB was 20 something weeks.
Macmillan had a campaign about it highlighting that having people with, at the time, a 6 month expected lifespan waiting 20+ weeks for money was ridiculous

Perhaps it is wage earners who are fast tracked?

If it is anything like DLA, special rules only apply to those who are terminal and are expected to live for I think it is 6 months or less.

I couldn't earn a wage when he was in hospital and ultimately ended up losing my job.

The debate in and outside of Westminster is centred to a large extent on getting people off benefit and into work. We shall know more later today.

The fact is that it is not so easy for claimants to do that. It will be interesting to see how Westminster plays it out.