To be terrified about PIP?

[BobbyBiscuits]

I've tried to blank all this out for ages, but today it hit me when the government basically are saying I'm going to (they want me to) have my PIP cut off?
My main illnesses are severe depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder and severe anorexia. I've severe PTSD symptoms and also think I may have ADHD but have not been able to get diagnosed due to phobia of MH services since I got sectioned.
I now have physical symptoms also and severe osteperosis which I put on my last forms. But had no assessment for several years.
I'm praying this is BS from the Tories and they can't do it anyway as they'll be kicked out.
Or could labour still continue this assault against disabled people?
It would halve my already tiny income, other half is from ESA, and they could kick me off that too even though I can't do anything!?

What do people think?

Taxis aren’t luxuries.

Im too disabled to drive. I can’t walk more than 10 steps. How else do l get to hospital appointments?

I think the majority of the British public would agree if asked. Feeling you deserve financial compensation for providing ‘emotional support’ to family and friends is nonsense, sorry.

lol, and me. I love the naivety on these threads about his disabled people use taxis…🙄

InMySpareTime provided an even better example, than I did.

Taxis are luxuries. They are expensive, allow people to travel in more comfort than public transport and you don't need to drive yourself. I am genuinely sorry that this is the only means of transport that you can realistically use and I can understand how they feel like a necessity to you. I would fully support you being able to use taxis to get to necessary appointments.

Being able to drive is a luxury. Having a disability and needing taxis because you don't drive and buses don't go where you need, isn't

It's not naivety. I hate the fact that people on MN assume that because you have a different opinion to them that you have no experience of what they're talking about.

Taxis are luxurious by nature. In the past I couldn't afford driving lessons so didn't have a car. I needed to go somewhere that couldn't be reached via public transport so I had to shell out for a taxi. I was using the taxi out of necessity but it was still a luxury service I was using. The fact I needed the taxi didn't change it's nature or how it was perceived by the general population. The vast majority of the public would choose a taxi over using public transport if the cost was the same.

I've just posted why I disagree with you. If you look up the definition of luxury in the Oxford dictionary it has nothing to do with whether the object or service is a necessity. I think this is becoming about semantics and getting off topic.

Do you seriously not understand that if, say, you have a couple with different disabilities, then they could support each other?

If either are claiming pensions or something like ESA, they can’t get payment anyway. Overlapping benefits rule.

But, a couple, claiming PIP, could support each other - if the disabilities are different.

You have a very limited understanding of disability.😑

I don’t think you understand disability, and I hope you never do.

If someone cannot use public transport, even for essential things, how do you suggest they get there? There is only taxis.

I cannot even get to my GP without it.🤷‍♀️

I think you need to look up the word luxury - I don't drive. If there's no public transport, getting a taxi isn't a luxury, it's a necessity

So all in all the cinema trip probably cost at least £100? I understand your point about quality of life but many people can't afford to go to the cinema so it is considered a relative luxury.

I know that sounds incredibly harsh but it sounds like the trip was excessive both in terms of how much it cost and also the strain it put on the PA. I have a disabled relative so understand the importance of them having enriched lives but there needs to be a balance somewhere. It is unaffordable and unsustainable to be funding this for him whilst expecting other people to work long hours on minimum wage with no consideration given to their quality of life or the fact that cinema trips are a distant fantasy when you can barely afford rent and food

1 The cinema entry for my son was about £10

2 The PA ticket is free with a CEA card

3 Social services want my son to get out and about to do activities and lead a normal social life - my son would rather stay home

4 his cinema ticket was paid for by us

5 However there are expenses for the PA eg food and drink

7 Getting him out involves expanses eg he might need an Uber to get back

The cost is the facilitation of the trip not the cinema ticket for him. he pays for his own ticket ( we do) and food ( we do).

I can immediately create an expense above and beyond pip. I have no desire to carry on caring for some stupid comments like this.

He is high needs and moreover in some form of care they will be duty bound to take people out like my son without these daft comments. However the care costs alone are more than 1800 per week and this crazy argument makes me want to give up.

Just to wind you up his life skills costs £35,000 per year makes his pip seem cheap! Really the government are doing a great job winding people up about PIp.

I've looked it up thanks!

It's still a luxury. One that you are being supported to access through state funding due to your disability. There are millions of people that don't drive and therefore can't access locations that aren't on a public transport network without using a taxi. They wouldn't receive funding from the government to pay for their taxis because they aren't disabled. By your definition, taxis aren't a luxury for these people too so why aren't they given money to pay for the taxis? Because it would become unaffordable and taxis are considered a luxury.

I am not by any means trying to suggest that you shouldn't be funded to use the taxis by the way, although I do wonder where most of the population would draw a line on reasonableness in cases like this. I expect almost everyone would want to fund taxis to hospital appointments but what about 'unnecessary' journeys? The cost of taxis would make long journeys incredibly expensive so when would it be deemed excessive? It is very hard to draw the line.

I've been waiting 3.5 years for trauma therapy.

I care about that. Plenty of people do. In one of the richest countries in the world everyone should have some quality of life.

They clearly don't. They can't grasp the definition of a necessity. Oxford lists it as "a state..of being required" and "a situation enforcing a course of action".

Seems pretty clear to me.

Perhaps they want you to teleport?

Many people would agree with you. Expect to be shut down though!

According to the media, many in the population also agree with the Conservatives' war on benefits culture.

Or just rot away at home.

This is also what I thought I 'heard'. It was my understanding though.

You seem to keep missing the point. Disabled people have extra expenses that non-disabled people don’t have. Yes, if someone is not well off, and they don’t drive, they might have to use public transport and walk. A disabled person doesn’t have that option at all. They have to take a taxi - it’s an extra expense that they have to pay - not just once or twice, but always.

@Bumpitybumper you ask me to suggest solutions- I already have. Read the thread. I am not going to go through them again.

What I would like from you, in black and white, is confirmation that you understand the government plans as they stand will push more people into poverty, and will lead to more suicides and early deaths. And that you think this is OK.

One last time

PIP is not an out of work benefit in fact a lot of people actually need PiP in order to work.

We are not one of the richest countries in the world. We’re number 30(ish).

Ok, genuine, serious cases aside.

I believe we all agree that the UK, as a country is broken. Doctors are striking, nurses are overworked and falling sick, infrastructure is old and in need of repair or replacement, education, crime and the list goes on.

Today, I read on X a well known senior barrister (KC) saying he loves his job, but it challenges his mental health for which his family have been a steady support so he can continue to do his important job. There are many ethnic minority people who, still not claiming any benefits, have chosen to leave highly paying professions due to discrimination or fear of, the higher up they go, so they choose less pressured jobs, usually working for themselves.

Many people need an annual holiday- funded by themselves- to escape Britain, just to feel normal.

So ask yourself if the society (as broken as it is) can afford to fund all the benefits it does forever, without any meaningful reform to weed out 'some' cases? I don't think it can. So, as sad as it may sound, something will have to give.

Genuine cases will always remain covered and pp have nothing to fear.

"We are not one of the richest countries in the world. We’re number 30(ish)."

Wonder why that is 🤔