Benefit cuts will cost the economy.

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/29/labours-benefit-cuts-will-cost-uk-economy-billions-charity-says

Interesting article which repeats what some of us have been saying about the likely consequences of the proposed measures, including increased pressure on services.

They will have swapped the mobility element of their PIP for the car. If they did not apply for the car, they would have the money instead.
The money would not be taken off them to give to someone else. That is not how it works. Many people get the high rate mobility which would entitle them to car but they don't have to get one.
I know someone who has given up her Motability car so she can have the money instead.

Disabled people can have an education and travel the world. Or were you born yesterday?

Really, that sounds rather unbelievable. I wonder which fun, sporty car they choose under the scheme .

That wasn’t the question.

The answer to that is between the claimant, medical professionals, and the DWP. It is not anyone else's business.

Without knowing this person, it’s impossible to say what extra support needs she has. Maybe she needs more support than someone without a disability to complete her masters? Who knows. All we know is that she has provided evidence to the DWP regarding her disability, and based on that evidence they have decided she is eligible for PIP.

One of my boyfriend's old jobs was supporting disabled students at uni. He would attend lectures with them and do things like take notes for them.

Without knowing this person, it’s impossible to say what extra support needs she has. Maybe she needs more support than someone without a disability to complete her masters? Who knows. All we know is that she has provided evidence to the DWP regarding her disability, and based on that evidence they have decided she is eligible for PIP.

This is all that matters at the end of the day, not what some random sitting at home thinks, who has no knowledge of the person whatsoever.

That's absolute bollocks. I used to work on the Motability account for a related company. You do not get to choose a sporty little number. Not unless your disability in some way justified that as the only vehicle suitable for you.

As if they're just handing out Mercedes SLCs!! 😂

Lie better next time.

I thought as much. You can't pick any car that currently exists. I remember some comments about the scheme on another thread, and someone was obsessed with people using PIP to get "branded cars" - like there are unbranded cars 😂

Although I have a friend who has a sporty number and has a Blue Badge. Some people might assume the car is from the Motatbilty scheme - it isn't. She is not even on PIP.

They can pay for it (luxuries) themselves. I understand if they cannot work and need money for essentials.

PIP isn’t means tested. It’s not an out of work benefit. It’s to help with the extra costs associated with being disabled.

Pip is an in work benefit

Yeah that's not how it works at all. The usual reasons for specifying a vehicle were the driver not being able to fit in the driver's seat, the vehicle being too low for easy ingress/egress, or needing more capacity for a wheelchair.

Never in my life heard someone say they need a convertible that will do 0 - 60 in a tick because of their disability. I'm actually laughing at the very idea.

This. The entitlement, when working people paying those benefits in many cases can’t afford a holiday (let alone to the States) is wild and the reason why the public is turning on you frankly.

Would you like to be disabled?

ETA I am not disabled, and am not in receipt of any benefits. I do not begrudge disabled people getting money from the state, however, and I am glad I am not in their position.

PIP is not an out of work benefit. A person doing a masters degree and managing to travel might only be able to do so because they get PIP. A lot of people on PIP DO work, and are only able to because of PIP.

I have a friend with MS. She uses a mobility scooter to get around when out, and a zimmer frame at home. She has a stair lift. She can't cook at all - she is not physically capable of making a meal. Her son is her carer and he can't work because he is caring for her. She uses her PIP to get a weekly hair wash at a hairdresser.
Up until very recently, she worked. Her PIP meant she could get a car on the motibilty scheme. She needed a big car to get her scooter into. Her car meant she could get to her job.
She loves to travel and up until recently, was going on coach trips and cruises. She has to have assistance when she travels, has to have a bigger room. Some of that costs extra and that is what PIP is for. If her son does not want to go on holiday with her, she has to pay someone to go with her.

PIP is not for essentials. It is for the extra costs that come with disabilities. If my friend was not disabled, she could wash her own hair, prepare and cook her own food, get up her own stairs. She would not have to be paying for help with those things. Her son could have his own job and career and not feel that he has to stay at home with her. He is nearly 40. He has never worked because he has always been her carer.

I know another guy who is highly educated and enjoys trips to Disneyland. He uses a motorised wheelchair, and is on the highest rates of PIP on a 10 year award. His condition will only ever get worse. He also works and can only do so because he gets PIP.

Like I understand it's supposed to help with the costs of being disabled. I am unsure what an autistic university student would spend it on. They are obviously very bright and can handle the academics of their degree. To me if they didn't get PIP for a while and then got awarded the lump sum, that means they dealt with university life well enough without the PIP.

To be honest,I think the government already knows this. But then I don't think that they are really cutting disability benefits in order to save money. I think they are doing it as a way of demonising disabled people,for having the sheer nerve and audicity to expect the state to support them because they are unable to work,or have to endure extra expenses due to their disability. That'll learn them as my DM used to say.

Or maybe they were really struggling before the PIP, but didn’t tell you about their struggles?

They can handle the academics but maybe not everything else that come with going to uni. Getting there, being in lectures, being around people.
Believe it or not, some autistic individuals are non-verbal but still manage to get a degree too.

Applying for PIP is not a fast process. If you have to go to appeals etc then you could be waiting for over a year for your first payment so obviously you will get back pay. It does not mean you did not need it in the mean time.

Your average working person does not have disabilities to the point they have to rely on state support to live.

You are comparing apples and oranges

Parents of children with conditions like diabetes, epilepsy etc can get disability benefits. They go to school full time, so shouldn’t some of that money be paid to the schools who have to be responsible for them during this time?

Well you could say people on PIP who work should have some of their benefits paid to their employers.

If a child is on DLA then their nursery/pre school can claim extra funding on their behalf. Schools can also receive extra funding for children with an EHCP.