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 can promise, 100%, that this is absolutely legitimate. I don’t make things up to troll threads and I’m offended you think this is a fabrication.

I appreciate it sounds so far ‘out there’ as not to be true, but it is. And yes, it upsets me greatly.

So you reported them I assume?

this is insane

My disability is completely invisible and I know the same goes for many others with my condition. So it makes no difference to do it face to face or on the phone for people like me, but face to face will certainly cost them a lot more.

It is not that low. They do not have the surveillance and staff and funding necessary to really investigate how common it is. Some countries that also offer benefits like Sweden use far more surveillance and other means to detect fraud and their figures are considerably higher. I do not buy for a minute that British people are just particularly honest unlike those fraudulent Swedes.I do know what’s involved btw as I have helped many people to complete the forms. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of consistency with the current system imo.

Likewise there are also a considerable number of people out there who should be receiving it and don’t.

I do think that this could be a good thing in some respects but that’s assuming that staff are going to be professional. (I appreciate that many are but not all) and fair.

Other changes need to be made too. The length of time that people wait for a decision is ridiculous for one. That long stressful wait is cruel and isn’t exactly going to help anyone’s mental health.

I'm wondering this. I have tried to find this oh so exciting news story - 🙄but I can't find ANYthing about it. A pp said it's not new news, and that Labour said many months back that new claimants will have assessments, but old ones won't. (I could be wrong, it was something like that, aplogies if I have got it wrong.)

It seems to me that this is a thread started to berate and frighten and worry people who may be on PIP now, or may be claiming it in the near future, or is in the process of doing it now. Nothing like a bit of fake news to whip up a storm and a bit of benefit bashing eh?! I am assuming fake news as I can't find ANYthing to back up the OP's claims of this news. If someone does do this, and show me it is true (and it happened in the budget today,) I shall apologise (for saying 'fake news,' not for anything else!)

And colour me shocked! The OP is a one post plopper, and hasn't even been arsed to return to her (goady) thread...

.

Isn't it just?

I agree about the length of time.

It was stressful enough as my son was in hospital and it was made worse by not only having the decision dragged out but also financially, having access to it earlier would've really helped too.

i don’t think she’s aware of this. She talks as though she’s okay for another year.

I honestly don’t understand it either.

But people never do, do they? For obvious reasons.

YABU.

It's not going to stop those who game the system from still gaming it, but it will most likely affect genuine people who struggle, but try to present a front.

I find those who are genuinely disabled would rather focus on what they can do, which is the opposite of what you're meant to do to get dla.

Whereas those gaming the system are quite happy to lay it on thick and lie.

You dont have to have a diagnosis to get pip/dla. It's how it affects you in your daily life. I know several people who get it with no diagnosis, no f2f, it just went on what they put in the form, which they'd paid someone to fill in. This way, they had to 'right' answers, and got full awards.

These threads are where all the absolute horrors come to play. It will be them or theirs one day who need help. But the stupid is strong

So glad I don’t know any vile ghouls like the ones on display here

Oh, and it will cost more to implement than it will save

Agencies that do all this are pointing out that they haven’t actually got the staff or facilities for this. I guess it may end up to be the usual government “aspiration” and not routine. 🙄

Despite your protestations, having applied the duck hypothesis, I am happy with my initial assessment
In the vanishingly unlikely event that the situation is as you have described it, then, as previous posters have said, you may wish to think of notifying the DWP as UC should be stopped if one is out of the country for more than four weeks. However, if you are labouring under the misapprehension that someone's PIP claim must be bogus since you don't think disabled people can go on holiday then I will politely point out that you are mistaken. I have enjoyed many foreign holidays throughout my life, all while being completely blind since birth. So far, no amount of foreign travel has caused the eyeballs without which I was born to grow, so very much still disabled and still qualifying for PIP! Hope that puts your mind at rest.

I can only imagine how stressful it was. Sincere sympathies. I’ve been a carer for family members 3x and haven’t claimed Carer’s Allowance even once because it’s such an ordeal. The first time the person I cared for died before a decision about Carer’s Allowance was made. I did have the opportunity to reclaim it but it wasn’t worth it for the amount and I was too overwhelmed for any more paperwork.

I am in favour of reform even though I am disabled because I don’t buy the official figures for fraud and I have seen abuse of the system from various angles. It absolutely goes on but there’s also people going without who shouldn’t and that should be a matter of concern too. Likewise I think it’s ridiculous that most benefits stop when the person is in hospital for more than 28 days because the bills certainly don’t stop coming so why should the benefits? Not to mention the extra expenses of parking, meals etc. I don’t think that’s something that they’re contemplating unfortunately but it deserves attention.

Seems a bit of a pointless waste of resources for many disabilities.
I mean, if you are a double amputee it's pretty obvious what your needs are.
I think it should be face to face for more ambiguous issues, where a conversation about their needs would be beneficial.

If this is true I hope it might stop the assessors lying on the reports. While I was awaiting radiotherapy the assessor told me she’d request a review in six months due to the radiotherapy/illness. After receiving a copy of my report she’d written a review wasn’t necessary as my health wasn’t likely to change in the near future. Utter rubbish

Face to face appointments were notorious for ignoring medical diagnoses, for deliberately under-recording the severity of conditions and for noting down outright lies about the people being assessed.

The rate of successful appeals was way too high. Almost as if the assessors were being financially induced to lower the amount paid out to claimants…

My MIL was called in for an assessment just before she reached pension age. Funny that, given that you can’t then have your PIP readjusted once you’ve aged out. Some of the notes from the assessor were so far from the truth that it would have been comical, had it not involved a financial hit.

In principle yes it could help but it won't in practice.
There is too much of a backlog, the current system needs looking at (I've had total lies written about me in person assessments as well as online). In recent years my assessment has been downgraded twice (both online) when my health has deteriorated (but I'm too scared of appealing as I haven't got much medical evidence because the nhs diagnosed and discharged).
I had a very thorough assessment for my ill health retirement in which 3 NHS doctors said I would never work again in any job aged 36 but this is not acceptable evidence (in my eyes it should be because if I'm deemed too disabled to work it surely proves I have chronic ill health which stops me carrying out lots of activities). I know pip is for those in work as well but not being able to work surely should show a level of disability.
It all needs to be brought in house, not give targets of how many they do. It should be about quality not quantity.
To give you an example last assessment I submitted it took 16 months from me submitting my evidence to them assessessing me, and me panicking what the outcome would be. I resubmitted my evidence again this September I have no idea how long it will be before an outcome is decided. In the meantime I need to apply for a blue badge and disabled bus pass which are much easier when you have a long award notice. It has such a knock on effect to other things.
So in short yes (especially first assessments) should get done in person as long as adaptions can be made (I've had home visits before covid) but not till they've got the staff, sorted the backlog and changed the whole system. Stop tinkering and fix it basically.

I know someone who had a home based PIP assessment yesterday. The assessor was there for hours. Feedback was that she was thorough, but kind.

It also completely discounts incredibly long hospital stays. My son was in hospital for so long that we applied for DLA when he was in hospital and he was still in hospital when his DLA was awarded.

To continue to receive child benefit, I had to prove that I was still providing for his needs even though he was in hospital. It was completely ridiculous and again, more stress when long hospital stays are already a huge financial strain.

Nope, it will just mean lots of severely disabled or unwell people will not get benefits as they will be unable to attend in person.

The Pip claims are spiralling out of control. The UK seem to have many many more people with MH issues, ADHD especially after COVID and of course there are the influencers out there who will tell you the key words to use.

I am staggered that assessments arent done face to face.

We cannot carry on approving more and more claims because it will end of spoiling it for the genuine claimant when a more realistic government is voted in.