To be frightened about the Government’s plans for benefits reform?

[PilgorTheGoat]

I am one of the millions of people currently on long term sickness benefits. I receive the LCWRA element of UC and PIP due to poor mental health and autism. I have severe anxiety and depression and I am awaiting an appointment to see if I also have PTSD due to sexual abuse in my childhood.

I have tried every element of support offered to me. I’m maxed out on 2 different types of antidepressants. I have had back-to-back (excluding the 6 month wait in between) 12 week sessions of counselling offered via the NHS. I am on a waiting list for intensive CBT due to my possible PTSD. I am currently having twice weekly private, video counselling appointments.

I can’t leave my house alone due to panic attacks. I struggle to meet my own care needs and my husband has to do a lot of the work for us both (although he works full time). I have a very understanding friend whom I force myself to go for a short walk with twice a week in order to stop myself becoming completely imprisoned at home but I find this very distressing and we have to take the same route each time.

I am so, so scared about the government’s plans to end sickness benefits for people like me. We don’t have a load of spare cash, we’re just about getting by. There is no support available. I’ve taken everything offered and my husband has been very proactive in seeking out other services for me to be involved with. I’d love to be better, I’d love not to live in fear but there is no help.

And sadly they will be the ones to suffer

Thete is help for ppl if they cannot fill out the forms

The other side of this coin - which strangely never gets mentioned - is that the amount of unclaimed benefits outweighs those claimed fraudulently.

Avoid the news! It is designed to frighten people. It works. I think you will be absolutely fine. Just make sure that you do what you can to get out and vote the Tories out!

Also, make sure everything regarding your health and struggles is reported to the GP. Every single thing so that you can hopefully have the backing of medical info should any reviews happen or things change

Filling in a form is the first thing... getting through an interview is the next. You can't have an advocate for that.

The Treasury and DWP are going to have to sort out PIP regardless of who is in government as the bill is exploding due to mental health claims.

My guess is that it'll be tightened up significantly to the point where PIP will only be available to those whose mental health conditions are so severe that they have been under section at some point and have been discharged into the care of community mental health services.

Limited capacity to work rules will almost certainly be stiffened up too and the WCA assessment scrapped and merged with the current PIP tests.

This means that a lot of current claimants on here receiving various benefits for depression, anxiety etc etc will be forced to look for work. The current situation is not sustainable given Britain's economic situation. Those who say tax the big corporations and stop subbing them via in work benefits and the like haven't factored in the inflationary costs of doing this. The reason wages in retail are subbed by the state is to keep inflation down. Prices would sky rocket if these subs weren't in place.

The interview is where you answer questions that are put to you about your illness ect nobody else other than the applicant know how to answer better than themselves

Well said.

Some people would do well to direct their anger at the real thieves

Most people on UC are not only not working but are not necessarily working full-time. From the government stats -

38% of the people on Universal Credit were in employment in December 2023
Universal Credit is available to people on a low income as well as those who are out of work

38% is NOT MOST

Tell us you've never been through the PIP application process without saying you've never been through the PIP application process...

This is true and Labour will have to address the issue.

I am confident they will do so without the vile scapegoating of ill people.

It's a start.

They will indeed.

The way a country treats its most vulnerable speaks volumes about the character of the individuals running it.

I have actually I suffer mental health

We are on about applying for jobs. No one should be talking about their illness in an interview for a job.

Have to wait and see, if Labour get in. It’s not guaranteed. 🙂

It may not be guaranteed but it would be miraculous if they didn’t.

If you had, you would know that what you're saying is utter bollocks.

And the individuals who can't speak....have language disorders...processing disorders...can't hear...neurological disorders...in so much pain from cancer....

They just go without? You are breathtakingly naive.

Poor OP! Yes it is really frightening isn't it.

Pursue PTSD AND CPTSD. Complex PTSD would be for prolonged exposure to abuse, which childhood abuse fits. I've been diagnosed with that too.

All we can do is keep fighting our corner. I am also ASD like you. These MPs have absolutely no idea do they.

My disabled son gets LCWRA on UC and PIP enhanced rate for both. Then Social Care take £600 a month of it to go towards his care package. So if this happens, social care will be massively pissed off and even worse off than they are already.

The HCP who dealt with my DDs PIP claim had never heard of her condition. It is a rare neurological condition but she hadn't even bothered to find out what it was. I had to explain it to her. She quite clearly had not read the supporting documents either. Despite it being obvious that DD has learning disabilities, can't tell the time and struggles to count I was asked if she would be doing GCSEs.

If you are naive enough to believe that these proposals will only target those who are capable of working then I have a bridge to sell you.

It was New Labour who brought in the likes of ATOS and Capita.

The right wing of the party are every bit as bad as the Tories.

Honestly I wouldn't worry about anything this government claim that they're going to do after the next election. Don't even give it head space if you can avoid thinking about it. It hasn't happened yet and this government are very unlikely to win another election, so it's very unlikely to actually happen. It's not in Labour's interest to stick with a policy like that, it won't wash with their voters, so I really would try not to worry.

Only naive people believe stories like those in the tabloids.

The reality is that Labour need small c conservative, traditional Middle England votes to win a general election convincingly.

Starmer, like Blair before him, understands that this is the only route into Downing Street for a Labour opposition leader to take.

Most people in the above demographic don't want their taxes going up in order to pay for significantly more liberal welfare policies.

This is why Labour are being deliberately vague and making no promises on welfare because they know that some tough decisions are going to be required post election.