I claim pip and esa ask me anything

[Plopandflop]

I lot has been said on here about benefits and people who claim them and supposed how easy it is. I claim pip and esa because I have epilepsy and narcolepsy. My husband has just been diagnosed with MS and is currently going through the process.
I also used to work for a disability charity who supported disabled people to claim benefits so I have quite a bit of knowledge about how the process is for people with different disabilities.
there is a lot of misconception out there so if anyone would like to ask me anything about the process, or my disability or how the process made me feel or how I feel now being on benefits please do.

Do you feel that there are any jobs that you could work with your conditions?

Is it income-based ESA? If so, how prepared are you for the move to UC?

I am in the support group for esa so that stays the same. We are in the process of moving from tax credits to universal credit.

I do have small business and I make jewellery and sell it under the permitted work rules. I can work round my seizures with this.

i would love a job I gave a did managed to work till 3 years ago but the seizures got to the point when I was let go. I hung on to it as long as a could.

trying to find a job that would allow me to work when I was able then I would jump at it. It’s difficult though as I can have really bad days or even weeks when I am literally asleep or my memory is bad due to the seizures. I manage to do about 5 hours a week.

That’s the thing with most disabled people who don’t work. They would love a job but trying to find one that fits round a disability especially one that fluctuates. Then if they do find the perfect job will the employer be willing to take them.

It’s really difficult as I have worked with many disabled people who have done volunteer work to try and prep for work or get a qualification. Then they may get reassessed and this may be held against them. Pip assessors will latch on to anything at all that may let them reduce or stop the benefit.

I even supported a lady with extremely bad mental health issues and I mean bad. She has loads of supporting evidence but she was refused pip as she wore makeup so she can’t be that bad. She had to do all the way to tribunal and the panel straight away gave it.

its system is so wrong. The most upsetting was a women in a wheelchair who had her mobility component of pip taken away based on the fact she could transfer herself from wheelchair to a seat. She had her mobility adapted car taken away, and due to this lost her job. By the time she appealed and it has gone through and she got the car back it was too late.

I will say though that some assessors are great. It’s a real lottery. One assessor forgot to mention I had a seizure during the assessment!!!!

another assessor pointed out something I had missed talking about so it really depends who you get.

How much money do you get a month?

I'm also in ESA support and PIP being forced over to UC. This means losing the Severe Disability Premium - transitional protection maintains current level of payment for existing claimants but it will be devalued going forwards.

New UC claimants on PIP will receive around £200 less per month than someone already on ESA and PIP, and things only set to get tougher.

I refused to believe that a Labour government would continue with the worst impulses of the last lot but here we are.

Do you have to declare your little jewellery business earnings to DWP?
I am on UC, and wanted to have my own little craft side hustle that works round my health issues too... but was told I would have register as self employed with the Job Centre (and go through all the appointments/paperwork) and declare it all, so I never bothered (even though it would only be about £20pm - HMRC are not interested with that).

I have a feeling this won’t go down very well

People who aren’t disabled and not claiming won’t understand

This will attract the benefit bashers I am afraid OP. Good luck!

Do you think the move towards WFH after the pandemic has helped?

this unfortunately.

whenever i see PIP mentioned it always ends up being comments about people not working. these people don't seem to realise how many receive PIP and work!

OP, i understand the sentiment of wanting to help with misconceptions many with them are happy to keep them. They won't change their mind.

How much money do you get a month? The amount of money an individual is assessed for isn't really relevant.

What do you mean it stays the same? Im in the process of moving too, have been in the support group and not had reviews for the last six year, I have been told that just because I was in the support group it's not automatic I will get LCWRA and may have to fill the medical forms and have the assessment all over again.

No questions op. Just hope you're managing ok x

Or lots of suggestions (that were not asked for) on what jobs they could do.
If the DWP assessors has deemed them not fit to work, and entitled to PIP, then that is it, and nothing to do with anyone else.

She got a hard time on a thread yesterday because her husband was laid down in one room and she in another after an argument with him and loads of posters were all "why is he lying down during the day"

I do declare my business because I don’t want to hide anything.

I get £720 pip and around £480 ESA a month. We also get £150 tax credits.

DH is going through the process of claiming esa but he won’t get in the support group so it won’t be nearly as much. I don’t think he will get pip at all as even though he is struggling he does not mean many of the discriptors.

I have estimated once we go onto universal credit with ESA we will bring in about £2000 between us. That’s with DH doing 15 hours permitted work as well plus my little business.

Thanks for answering how much you get op. Good luck to you and your DH

Whilst the Romans clearly contributed a lot in introducing technology and a structured society in Enland and Wales, do you feel that broadly colonialism is a good thing, as knowledge and technology is spread more quickly to the benefit of all?

Do you feel better now you've had a little pop?

Please can you point me in the direction of the support group. My husband is currently in the application process

Good question and a complex one to answer

Broadly, colonialism rests on imposition rather than sharing. The colonialism model also implies that the colonised people are inferior with an undesirable way of life and wouldn't have arrived at this technology/knowledge under their own agency (as well as presuming they actually want the technology /knowledge in the first place), they've needed the civilising influence of the superior colonisers in order to achieve this "ideal".

I mean, how do we define "good" and for whom? It's very subjective. You can consider benefits to be things like sanitation, reading, infrastructure, etc (again, not necessarily wanted) but colonialism is almost always exploitative, brutal, and imposes foreign control over local populations, suppressing indigenous cultures, economies, and traditions in favour of the colonisers preferred model. Any benefits disproportionately benefit the colonisers at the same time as disadvantaging the colonised. The human cost isn't worth the marginal gains IMO.

Do you treat your PIP income separately, specifically to pay for additional costs of disability ?

And what do you think is your biggest disability related cost? Travel or something else?

Or do you treat all your income as a pot for living expenses?