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

Charting only anxiety and depression vs cancer is so needlessly devisive. They aren't comparable conditions, the DM clearly thinks only one is worthy of sympathy.

I think that it will be true that there are people who exploit that depression/anxiety are subjective and exaggerate their symptoms to get money. But it will also be true that there are people living with crippling treatment resistant depression for whom the money does make a difference (care, support workers, taxis, cleaners).

How you tackle the fibbers without taking money from those that need it I don't know. Particularly as paying for more MH nurses to assess the chsncers face-to-face will likely absorb the money you are trying to claim back.

My step son has just been awarded pip, standard rate, roughly £70 ISH a week. Didn't have a face to face assessment, openly stated that his friend told him to lie on the form. Yes, he has social anxiety, no, it doesn't stop him doing what he says it stops him doing. Yes, he's on antidepressants and the GP doesn't keep a check on anything. Might make me sound bitter, he drained us dry for 8 years and also receives the universal credit 'limited capability ' money. No, he didn't have a face to face assessment for that either. He has no intention of working , the money isn't spent on accessing help, he buys Warhammer models with it, very expensive ones.

At this time of the day, it’s gonna rock n roll

You ll get more balanced views after work hours…

We need to know the why. I don't think it's just underfunding or people with autism that are the result of these figures.

Why, do all working people only work 9-5? I'm on AL today, as I'm sure are lots of others. My DH works nights, so around in the daytime. DD2 works shifts, so around in the day. 🙄

ETA that was to @inkognitha quote didn't work for some reason.

I have 'back pain', OP. Or to be more precise I have back pain because many years of being bendy whilst having an autoimmune disease means my spine is wrecked. I've seen the scans. They're interesting.
In my area the sum total of NHS 'help' is to tell you that you're unhappy (nope, I'm not), unhealthy (nope, not unhealthy) and tell you its all in your head. No amount of counselling, talking therapy, nonsense youtube videos about how pain is like unhelpful passengers on a bus you just need to ignore and anything else you can think of is going to fix the fact that my body has successfully attacked my joints and bends in stupid ways.
I claim PIP. And because I've namechanged I dont mind saying I've also got an enhanced/enhanced award. To get enhanced mobility on mobility grounds you have to be able to prove you can walk less than 20 metres. I can do a few steps with a zimmer frame on a good day. On a bad day I cant even stand up. I'm a wheelchair user, in a powerchair I had to self fund (8 grand). My NHS wheelchair is a small wheeled, pushed by someone else chair because I can technically walk.

I'll happily dish out my entire PIP award, blue badge and everything else if only I can walk up my stairs and get in the bath I havent used for the best part of 4 years without any aids, adaptations or anything else.

Judge not lest ye be judged.

I don't want to believe that it's easy to cheat the system but unfortunately I know someone who is. I don't understand why they can't see through her. Before anyone jumps on me, she openly admits to exaggerating symptoms. Has no intention of working.

The system needs to change, and the people who need support should get it but we can't afford the current setup at all.

Universal basic income.

And then let the people who want to work on top of that.

Since the introduction of UC and the more 'punitive' work requirements, the number of PIP applications has soared. I work in a service that supports education/welfare and this will be unpopular but there are people who have no intention to ever work and 'mental health' is the new exit route. It's very hard to prove, easy to fabricate and puts so much extra pressure on a system where people with genuine MH issues are getting overlooked.

Also, I’d like the see the tracking graphs for all other conditions. Have any gone down?

And how are the DWP choosing to categorise complex conditions? People rarely have just one thing wrong with them (and such people certainly wouldn’t be awarded PIP).

That’s a really sad way to talk about yourself.

I am so sorry that I am not taking your specialness into account and that you feel unseen, but I m writing a post on MN, not a sociology thesis and all reasonable people got my drift, you have a lovely day caring about what matters

MH services are woefully underfunded imo. Even people with significant MH issues get very little input from MH teams.

My DB is bipolar, and his entire MH input consists of a trip to the MH team offices once a month for a depot injection. He's like a zombie for approx 10 days afterwards, then has a few days of being ok before he starts to get manic again. If they could sort out effective medication, he might be well enough to work.

A friend's son (17) waited 6 years for a CAMHS assessment. During that time, his anxiety got so much worse that he's now totally socially phobic, and has panic attacks at the slightest thing, like an unusual noise. He finally got an autism assessment seven years after referral. He had just a few weeks at secondary school before his problems got so bad that friend simply couldn't get him there. It's hard to know what work he could do, he's so terrified of everything he won't even open the front door. And the strain of caring for him has fucked friend's MH as well, so that's a second person out of the work force and on benefits.

I worked with clients with MH problems for 18 years, and the decline in the help and support they get has been massively reduced over that period. Unless people are so unwell that they need an acute admission, there's next to fuck all help out there.

This is an issue. One of my adult DC has complex care needs as a result of a very rare chromosomal disorder. They have so many medical problems but the GP used to always write autism on their fit notes, rather than their named condition.

I’ve had therapy and still have ADHD. It didn’t cure me. Mind you I’ve never thought of claiming PIP as ADHD folk just need to find a job that interests them - then it’s a superpower !

I also got your drift, that the only people replying right now are the feckless unemployed. I guess you're one of them too.

I find it bewildering how people can ‘cheat’, given my two PIP assessments lasted (1) for 2 hours 20 minutes; and (2) 1 hour and 45 minutes. And for both I supplied around 80 pages of medical evidence as well as copious example-filled answers to the PIP questions. Yet I still got those incredibly lengthy and detailed assessments.

So how exactly do people ‘cheat’? Genuine question.

I know you are correctly stating that your friend deserves the benefit and she does.

Im just using your post to point out how she will be getting the PIP points.

They will ne made up from her bladder and incontinence issues, which will also be listed on the PIP main data report as one person

Then as she will have listed anxiety that will go down as another count/person with anxiety, and listed depression, another country for depression

Thats why there are stupid threads started all the time about people getting PIP for hand cramp or low vit B and this place goes off on one, because the shit press have reported on one section of the data without presenting it correctly.

You have to list all your medical conditions. I have about 12, but only 3 "disable" to to any real extent

I don't claim anything for my mental health and my neurodivergence.

I thought it was hard to get PIP for ADHD?

When disability or being disabled goes back to what it used to mean, when it meant something.

ADHD and being depressed and or anxious or significantly overweight are not disabilities.

Whenever you see one of this threads posters come on talking about their severe non verbal, autistic child. Of course these people should receive help!
But we cannot deny the numbers. The number of 16-24 yrs old NEETs has risen by roughly 30% in the last 5 years. This is tens of thousands of people.
Why would there suddenly be a massive surge in severe mental health diagnoses/spectrum disorders?
I don’t believe it. I think some claims are spurious and I absolutely think the investment should be made in finding/funding solutions as opposed to creating lifelong dependency.

Yep - mainly mobile.phones and esp aocial media.
Thank goodness the tide is turning a bit on that but it'll be slow progress and too much damage done already to young generations...

Well its different for everyone ,it might be a superpower for you but for others its a disability
It also sounds like you wouldnt meet the criteria for PIP anyway if you feel like its a super power for you.

It goes off need not diagnosis.

Coupled with lack of opportunities, wage stagnation v cost of living.. etc etc. I think there is a multitude of reasons young people are anxious/depressed.. but I agree ever increasing PIP is not the answer..