Benefits explosion- where will it end?

[TheBlueKoala]

"PIP benefits explosion: Anxiety and depression handouts have nearly TRIPLED to £4.3bn since Covid - with autism and ADHD bill hitting £2.2bn and 'back pain' £1.6bn"

Something is not right here. When I have written before on here telling about people I know who claim for anxiety although they have rich social lives (funded by 440£ extra per month from PIP) I've had many people telling me that it's not possible etc. It sure is. How many 16 year olds are claiming PIP for anxiety?

Instead of benefits why not pay for therapy- invest massively in the NHS mental health support so that people with anxiety, adhd and autism can see a therapist regularly to help them. This would make a difference for tje individual and the society. Throwing out money won't.

AINBU- I agree with about
AIBU- No, extra money is always useful

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15510221/PIP-benefits-anxiety-depression-austism-ADHD-pain-Covid-Labour.html

Choices are not "luck".
They require you to have your head firmly screwed on and putting yourself first.
Then you take and adapt your choices.

I really struggle to see how so many people are falsely claiming PIP - I had a huge amount of evidence to back my claim up, with my therapist, GP, and pain clinic team also helping.
They turned me down and I scored 0 points. At MR I received 4 points. At tribunal I was awarded high for both components.

Just had my review and they've taken it away again, despite my condition not getting any better. Not for lack of trying, however - I've had many appointments cancelled with little or no notice, and many GPs only wanting to give me more pills instead of doing tests to find out exactly what's wrong with me.

So true. Their job guarentee policy where the government pays the full wage of a young person plus extra to the company for “training” to work at KFC or BMJ for 6months is not going to lead to more jobs. These companies are going to use each young person for 6 mos as free to them labour, and then get rid of them so they can get another young person working for them for free for 6mos.

Obviously, the young will be blamed for this 6 mos not leading to a full time job, when this entire policy is clearly a way to funnel government cash to businesses that offer minimum wage jobs. I honestly would not be suprised if these companies did a fire and hire- sack all their current workers in the 16-24 age range so they can hire replacements whose wages plus extra will be paid for by the government. (Our taxes).

You are silly to suggest therapy will cure autism, that isn’t how it works. Saying that autism isn’t always a reason not to work, there are two members in my team who are autistic, one needs a bit of support and the other I wouldn’t have known without her telling me.
I actually hate the phrase.. I have anxiety, most people feel anxious at points and have to deal with it, it’s not a constant state.
I do know someone on benefits for anxiety, she told me recently after bills she’s left with £500 disposable income, more than me and I work full time.
For someone who can’t work she copes well with, going shopping, getting coffees with friends and internet dating.

Which makes it even more odd if they have little evidence to provide.

Well some find it hard to claim, but it’s clearly not a universal problem because we have family friends who stay at home and claim - our female friend does, her mother and sister, most of her neighbours and now her 5 children are grown and also started claiming one by one as soon as they could, having never worked a day in their life. We visit them once a year, they throw a hell of a party!

You are still not answering the first question about where the money is going to come from.

My dad said the same to me. I told a couple of charity fund raiser's what he said and they were shocked and appalled for me. They didn't say anything the look on their faces said it all. Like with all interviews and jobs it's how you present yourself and sell your experience and knowledge of the job.

So the people too disabled to work are choosing to be disabled? They just don't have their heads screwed on firmly enough; just aren't putting themselves first?

False equivalency as well you know.

Rachel Reeves had a serious opportunity to raise income tax by a paltry 2p in the pound (£20 on a thousand) . Tbis amount would pay for updated scbools and the NHS Shortfall. She didn't because Labour are frightened of losing the next election. Tbey had a landslide election fhe same as Thatcher and Blair. This is when brave politicians do hard things for the good of the country .

Charity fundraisers? As in, the door-to-door / middle of the street charity fundraisers? They'll agree with anything you say if they think it'll help them get their commission, I wouldn't take their views as gospel 🤣

Having spent a significant amount of time in a community of people with terminal and life limiting illnesses that appear without warning and destroy lives completely, I'm not sure they'd agree that "it's how you present yourself". I don't think any amount of presenting myself differently would stop what's going to happen to me.

It's hard enough to go through the process of claiming disability benefits for some people - without having to account for every penny you get and state how much being disabled costs

You seem to be suggesting that because your stepdaughter is medicated that her needs have changed and she no longer needs DLA. If that's the case then her mum should tell the dwp she no longer needs it - but that's down to them.

Yes there are people who game the system and you are right - there are people who should get disability benefits that don't get it

But speaking as someone who had to fight to get lwrca - five years it took me to get it and I had to go to tribunal it is completely wearying to be on threads like this with people asking you to justify every decision you've made - when they don't know how hard it's been to get to that point - because you are viewed as a "scrounger" by some people simply because you are claiming disability benefits.

How is it? That's literally what they're implying; that choices are not luck - you literally have to be lucky to be in a position to make those choices.

She doesn't need any adjustments that cost money. She'll need extra time in exams and to be allowed to type rather than handwrite in exams. I don't know what can be done about the washing but I suspect eventually someone will tell her she stinks and she will do it, or maybe she won't care and just carry on. I'm not aware you can buy anything that makes you shower regularly or wear clean clothes and I'm also not aware of any kind of service that can be hired to come and order you to do that so I think it will be on her to work that out regardless of how much money she gets.

You've completely misread my post. I was saying that for us, personally, it's a benefit if she gets PIP and so I'm not objecting just because I don't want her to have it. In fact, I can't help but hope a bit that she gets it But it doesn't sit right with me to know she's getting it when she doesn't need it.

Especially knowing how many people who do need it don't qualify. The criteria seem a bit arbitrary and not related to costs.

Lots find it hard to claim. Plenty of people have to go to tribunal to get disability benefits - having been denied at every other stage

In my LEA (a predominantly rural county) special schools are few and far between so most children who go to them have to travel so far that they are entitled to free home-school transport. Because the number of pupils travelling to any given school from any given town are small, a taxi is often the cheapest way of getting them there.

It may be different in a big city, @wishingonastar101 but even then different special schools have different specialities, iyswim.

Well, given that we live in a society where it is completely acceptable to shame someone who doesn't, yes, I think she probably does deserve it. You can't have it both ways.

If I were to post that I just had ADHD, and it wasn't that bad but you can claim for it, if you word it right, so I do, what would you say? So if you believe that's acceptable to socially punish someone for (which is the norm), then you need to socially reward the converse. Which is not the norm. so, yep. Give her a pat on the head and do your bit. It wouldn't cost you anything.

Or we could live in a less judgemental and conditional society. I have tried to, but frankly it's not my world, and when you are ND you are pretty constantly blamed and shamed for not fitting in, and if there's no appreciation for the enormous effort you make to try to and achieve normal, why would I bother? Might as well claim the benefits and have a (very slightly) easier time of it.

Oh......

I'm feeling especially jaded and fed up of it just now. My point is that if MOST NT's were a just a little bit less shitty day in day out, ND peeps would feel less disabled and be capable of more. It's your world, not ours. You have the privilege, potential and capacity, we don't. And yet we absorb the cost for you utill we break. It can be a really shitty life at times, and you still have to pretend it's not.

Crazy. Just get a party that understands job creation. These policies are dire. No wonder job losses are going up and more young people are stuck at home at risk of depression.

I remember complaining here once about my salary going up, but all my other bills went up too, so it felt pointless. Then someone commented, "just be grateful, working people don’t get anything." I was like, what ??? I work ??? Why should I feel grateful ??? You really can’t make this stuff up. They look down on us, but they forget who actually pays the taxes that fund their benefits! Takes the piss and I don’t give a shit if this is ”benefit bashing” either !

It is still proof of an ongoing issue, otherwise she would not have to be having appointments with a psychiatrist at all. That is medical evidence.

YABU and looking for an argument no one has said that.

I have generalised anxiety disorder and OCD, and suffer depression periodically. Because of this I have had had periods of life where I have been off work for a couple of months, but been straight back to work as soon as I was able: for the best thing for me is to get back to normal life. I’ve never claimed PIP for it. Yet I know a few people who claim to have anxiety and have never worked but claimed PIP for all of their lives. They seem to have multiple kids and a better lifestyle than people I know who work in minimum wage jobs

The only way to have enough money for the welfare bill and to create jobs so people can actually have a chance of being employed, and for money for the Health Service is to stimulate the economy.

This isn't really happening now.

The criteria is related to care needs.