To be confused by benefits cuts to the disabled and ill?

[AllyHayHay]

As luck would have it, I have not been in this position, but I do know of one disabled lady who has struggled. She was incredibly fortunate to already own her own home prior to her accident.

I am not what you'd call politically astute, but I have been reading about the proposed spring benefits cuts and wonder why people always discuss this ONLY affecting the sick and disabled.
I am also aware that there are many, many rough areas with families who have never worked, people who are struggling with addiction, prison sentences (their kids, spouse, etc) and these people never seem to be included in the Guardian articles and opinion pieces online.

Why would a system wish to make the life of a disabled person worse, yet ignore the growing issues of illiteracy, generational poverty and other issues which are going on in most urban areas just out of sight of the comfortably off?
Why not address the reasons that great swathes of people are living on benefits across the UK who are NOT disabled? I imagine this would drag up questions of why those issues persist - and no one in government wants to address that.

Since benefits claimants who are not in work of on the pension are a minority, are these cuts more of a populist tendency?

Tell this to millions who commit suicide every year

No that's an exaggeration. We should improve the application process to weed out fraudsters. Which will benefit genuine claimants in the long term!

Have you ever applied for benefits? You can't just say you are depressed, and get money. You have to give evidence.

@XenoBitch If you're diagnosed and on medication for anxiety, for example, would that be insufficient evidence? I'm genuinely curious.

And how are you going to do that?

everyone says this, but doesn’t actually explain how

please explain

id love to know

because the amount of people including a very sick truly ill relative of mine (whos mother financially supported him while he fought) who struggled to get PiP is extremely sad

there are also undiagnosed people. Those whose condition is difficult to diagnose. It took someone I know 6 years to get a diagnosis. Thank god they had parents supporting them financially. What are they supposed to do? People with rare conditions doctors struggle to find etc Even something simple as endo takes average 8 years to diagnose.

ive read online about the how many suicides were linked to PiP

there’s no way to do this without punishing and terrorising sick people

but please do tell me, explain how we should do that, genuinely would love to know.

No. You would have to provide evidence as to how anxiety affected you too.
I had to give evidence from my mental health team.

I don’t think so.

I know people including a relative with physical illness who had multiple diagnosis plus on a bunch of meds, and they were rejected, struggled and had to fight to get it.

Although much of this is correct, context is everything

I would like to understand the split of the additional claimants, what proportion for example is due to long covid, what due to nhs waiting lists, how do the movements compare to other comparable countries etc.

I imagine someone has done this, and I think it might give people assurance, well should do.

Personally I think we all know people who are claiming when we suspect they shouldn't (eg pretending they don't live with someone, exaggerating the needs etc) but I don't want genuine claimants to suffer and I do want support for those who need it to work, whether it's support re disability or long term back to work.

I would like to see CSA properly sorted so benefits are needed less there

@XenoBitch Thanks. I was wondering, because I was affected by panic attacks and intrusive thoughts, but counseling and medication have helped to prevent them. It would be ridiculous if I was eligible.

news say they plan on cutting universal credit for all those unfit to work while raising for those looking/in work and freezing pip/not increasing it with inflation.

how does that not affect genuine disabled people? How is that not punishing/hurting the truly disabled who truly cannot work?

Where have you heard that? There is a lot of speculation about at the moment. t is not helpful to spread stuff that has not been confirmed.

This. I very much doubt it. I posted a while ago my BIL applied for Pip a few years ago, he got rejected and he can work and is still working.

ITV news

The radical package of reforms will see:

• £5bn in savings by making it harder to qualify for Personal Independence Payments - a benefit not linked to work that is meant to help people with the additional costs of their disability
• Further savings by freezing PIP payments next year, so they do not rise with inflation
• Raising the basic rate for Universal Credit paid to those searching for work, or in work, while cutting the rate for those who are judged as unfit for work.
• A billion pounds of savings ploughed into a major investment for employment support for those who are looking for a job

https://www.itv.com/news/2025-03-07/government-to-make-6bn-welfare-savings-with-benefits-shake-up

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dwp-changes-pip-universal-credit-164559492.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF6x_z3wU5TlQ1sprHFHQlmNMkcNbjWjNTlmAQr1ZQl5dGKFZCUOktp0d0vav9_Q2TsEU6cMIRd9SAzC5KTDoNaAZnBrQ80Gb9t6CWD2QoJvCmr_cRxaDsNzU47fQLxdawshjhB3dOFBPrSJrH5P20kO4ZgpINStaNeqPBBI3AWh

Please do not exaggerate the numbers of people who kill themselves. And many of those people were working.

Or….we had a global pandemic with long lasting effects on people’s mental and physical health?

Remind me what happened in 2020??? Not everyone came out of the pandemic with no health problems, physical or mental, long covid etc.
Also the pandemic created a backlog in treatment for other things so people have been waiting 5 years for hip replacements etc and have been signed off sick.

How do people not realise these things?

What do you mean? What does your bil working have to do with this?

there are many people on pip who work, (if their disability allows them to) it’s not an out of work benefit, it’s to pay for extra costs disabled people have

And why has 99% of the world recovered and got on with life yet UK is one of the sickest countries by percentage of people who can't work?

He told us himself he was chancing it. He didn't really need it.

This

But in many cases it does not. People use it to pay their ordinary bills.

This

I was just about to post this

my co workers daughter after 2020 was just diagnosed 6 months ago.

4 and a half years they waited to do just like only 5 tests plus diagnosis. And if they didn’t go private in the end they still would be waiting

these nhs waiting lists are insane, especially after Covid

there’s also raised pension age in my opinion. Living longer doesn’t mean healthy. Those who would have been pensioners now having to work. With illness/sickness older people tend to get. Especially those with more physical jobs.

I don't disagree with you and I hope the genuine cases get what they need.

Educate yourself

Hmm In my opinion, maybe something to do with higher pension age (so sicker older people) and extremely long waiting lists? Especially after covid

like my coworkers friend who had to wait 4 and a half years to do a few tests plus diagnosis. (After 2020)

my brothers gf is Ukrainian for example. Poorest country in Europe. Their pension age was recently upped to 60. Her mom retired at 55.

also the amount of people I know who go back to Eastern Europe including his gfs family to be treated and diagnosed is insane.

she said the uk is like a third world country when it comes to health

she said it would take her years to be treated in uk what took her really quick in Ukraine

I mean I even read stories of people going to war torn Ukraine now for treatments