To be delighted PIP assessments are to be face to face?

[PAYE]

The only good thing about the budget is that Rachel Reeves announced that face to face assessments for PIP and disability benefits are being brought back. AIBU to think that this is a great thing?

It will make sure that the money goes to those who need it. It is madness that such face to face assessments were ever stopped.

I would hope they would offer telephone calls for the reassessments and where appropriate.

With anything like this there will be consequences and for some it will be negative and some positive.

The cost of living crisis has made life so hard for so many, I think people are delighted that some of the benefit cheats might be caught and dealt with. People see that every penny counts and some of the examples of theft on this thread add in to this narrative.

we need to protect our vulnerable and ensure they can get what they are entitled to whilst also being responsible and ensuring people aren’t gaming the system.

It should not, and does not without sufficient medical evidence, which would have been sent in with the initial form.

Ah, I see. I was going to ask woolyguru for the telephone number, could do with a bit of spare cash.

Thank you for sharing your stories. My niece is one of the reasons PIp assessments have a poor reputation. There's an element of really working the system by my SIL that has done her daughter no favours. Embracing a mental health condition to max out benefits and maintenance.
I do like the idea of a society with universal benefits but it's not working like that is it. Child care, education and student loans are at the bottom of the heap.
My brother is also on PIP, this time for depression. It funds fags and booze so I guess most of it makes it back to the treasury.

I'm sorry my family has made PIp so much harder for those that really do need the extra support.

I am fine with having face-to-face assessments for PIP. I have very light touch very occasional re-assessments as my disability is life-long and will not improve. I know this will probably be very upsetting for some posters on here to read in case it allows me to game the system in some way, so, to put your poor minds at rest, I am quite happy for the government to send someone round once a year, or more often if you prefer, to check that the eyes I was born without haven't miraculously sprouted in the last six months. I am unsure this is a great use of resources, but if it makes some of the concerned posters on here sleep better at night then it's surely money well spent!
Being serious for a moment, it strikes me that this is an entirely pointless policy proposal which will save the government no money and is merely intended to placate all the tiresome whingers, like those who proliferate on threads like this, banging on and on ad nauseum about the life of lavish tax-payer funded luxury all us disabled benefits scroungers apparently live.
No matter how many people take the time to patiently explain the PIP assessment process to these geniuses, they are always adamant that all you have to do is send a letter to the DWP telling them you have a sore finger or feel a bit sad and they will send you a big envelope stuffed with cash by return post. Not to mention all the posters on here who definitely know a, not remotely imaginary, friend, family member or neighbour who claims PIP for a bad back while being world limbo champion. I am not remotely casting aspersions on the existence of these surely not at all fictitious folks, but it never ceases to amaze me how these benefits fraudsters, who absolutely aren't figments of the posters fevered imagination, are so charmingly garrulous! One would think that, if one were to commit benefits fraud, one would be a little reticent about broadcasting this fact to all and sundry. Apparently this is not the case for the, again completely real and not made-up, benefits cheats being described on threads like this who seem happy to share their crimes with judgemental nosy parkers like these commenters!

Excellently put.

Very well said.

I’m not sure this will catch as many fraudulent claims (that allegedly are everywhere costing so much) but I suppose we will see.
Part of me thinks if someone is able to have already duped assessors and medical staff they’ll continue to be able to do that, surely?

I don’t look forward to the day my DD switches from DLA to PIP but at least the fact that she can do NOTHING for herself is self-evident. I’d hate to be someone applying for PIP with a condition that an assessor can and will lie about,

@Simonjt my DD has the same condition (AMC but DD doesn’t have amyoplasia) as your DH (it’s possible we know each other given how rare it is!!)and I almost wailed when I read what the assessor said about picking up a full kettle. Given most people with AMC don’t have any biceps… and have severe contractures . Words fail me

All it will do is cause longer wait times due to staffing issues and then wasting everyone's time in general since most appeals etc go on to be successful anyway.

DLA doesn't require face to face assessments so I don't see why it needs to be different with PIP unless I'm missing something obvious.

I'm unsure really, face to face might be fine if it were done humanely but often the assessors seem to be looking for any reason to deny claims rather than allow them including lying on their assessments of people, I've seen some of the reports people have been sent and its ridiculous. It certainly seems that they are encouraged to refuse claims no matter what. I also know that people who are claiming for other illnesses and disabilities have had their mental health put though the mill and ended up on additional medication due to the process of trying to access these benefits causing them to develop depression and anxiety.

It's very unpalatable to many but disability benefits are very difficult to access in the UK and are not easy to stay on long term and many more people need and are eligible for support and even apply due to how invasive and humiliating the experience is.

Face to face is appropriate, I think.

My nearest assessment centre for my pip claim is 15 miles away. I don't drive, have trouble walking any distance. They did the assessment by telephone. Yes face to face is good but not always practical for everyone

Is there public transport or is your route not served?

No sarcasm.

For some people, yes. I would have no problem with it, but I understand that for other people, it could cause acute distress. The OP has stated that they are delighted that F2F are coming back, but has not said that the other ways of being assessed are going to be binned, so I don't think that people should worry too much. The DWP still understands that there is still a need for home visits, and telephone assessments.

This isnt true. If you leave the country for 4 weeks all benefits stop. DWP get pinged when you go through customs via your passport.

@ReacherJack
I presume you mean taxis because if you can’t walk much buses are more than a bit difficult…
And don’t stop close to the exact location very often.

I’d hope the assessors can use common sense in cases like @shellyleppard has - if safe and reliable access isn’t available (she may also not be able to actually get into the assessment centre without, for instance using a wheelchair but may actually not have a wheelchair herself), that home visits are considered if face to face is mandatory.

Im not criticising you but sometimes what seems obvious to an able bodied person is utterly unfeasible for a particular disabled person.

My DD is doubly incontinent and can’t stand or bear weight or sit on a toilet so days out/events that don’t have the kind of changing facilities that include being able to lie to have her pads changed are impossible (she also can’t control either incontinence). I was a bit shocked by a hospital telling me she could use the baby change facility- she’s the height of an 11 year old and weighs 24.4 kilos.. but this is the sort of thing that if you haven’t actually been faced with that issue you won’t even see it.

The reason I mention that is that not everyone is comfortable discussing or disclosing that particular aspect of being disabled that often accompanies mobility issues. Just food for thought really.

Yep, same here, they speak to me over the phone to do his claim, when it was face to face they spoke to me in my house. Same outcome.

I think any “one size fits all” solution is going to cause problems when applied to disabled people because the range of disabilities is so broad.

My face to face PIP assessment in 2016 was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. The assessor clearly didn’t have the training to properly assess my needs, and if I am being charitable, I will attribute her twisting of my words whenever she read out what she was going to put in her report to a desire to sound more educated, when plainer English would perhaps have been more appropriate.

I’m incredibly fortunate that I had my husband with me to support and that we also had the right kit to record the assessment so we would have proof if we had to appeal.

I have higher rate for both mobility and daily living, and in 2019 was given a continuous award with no review before 2029, because it was clear from my medical records that my condition wasn’t going to be temporary.

But for anyone who thinks the system isn’t stacked against claimants, I can tell you that I was originally sent an appointment for an assessment many miles away that would have been incredibly hard to reach on public transport in my wheelchair. My husband phoned and they switched it to a centre 2 miles away we could reach by bus. But no doubt, had I somehow managed to get to the original location it would have counted against me.

By the time you start applying for PIP, you’re perhaps already facing the worst time of your life and don’t always think that you can challenge some of the ridiculous ploys and just have to find a way to get somewhere daft. Even when they blatantly have appointments available much closer to your home.

PIP fraud is the lowest of all benefit fraud at just 0.2%. So quit the goady shite of how there are loads of scroungers who don’t deserve it. To be awarded it in the first place is hard enough.

@ReacherJack thank you for understanding. Taxi journeys are extremely uncomfortable and they can't park anywhere near the assessment centre. Hence my telephone assessment x sending hugs 🤗

It's a very good thing. People (especially on here) grossly underestimate the amount of fraud exaggeration within the disability benefits system. I know at least 4 people off the top of my head who are playing the system. I dont begrudge them it and can't really blame them for taking advantage when it's currently so easy. People who say "but Dr's reports!" they may state the condition but rely entirely on what the claiment is sayinhg for how it actually limits or impacts their life.

Those who are scared they may lose thier PIP/DLA probably know they may not need it at the level they have it.

There are also so many conditions that should be added to the "for life" list too.

@ReacherJack the nearest bus stop is a 15 minutes walk away. Then once I get into the city centre its another 20 minutes walk to the assessment centre. I use a Zimmer frame to help me get about but I would struggle walking those distances

I'm about to start chemotherapy for cancer. I will be applying for PIP once the side effects kick in. As a result of the treatment my immunity will be shot. What benefit is it for me to be face with an assessor? A room full of people coughing and sharing their germs when I have zero immunity? All so an assessor doesn't think I'm faking it?

For reference I am late 30's and have always worked in some capacity since I was 16. I don't claim any benefits and have never done. I intend on continuing to WFH through treatment. The PIP will replace the income I'm losing by dropping my hours.

Its only when you are down and need a little help that people have delight in just kicking you further down and thinking you are faking it.

So long as home visit is an option

That would also be hugely expensive and rates of fraud for disability benefits, is very, very low. There are for more people who are eligible for it and need it who don't get it.

So they can face to face for this but not for GP appointments. Says it all.