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

And what contributed to the debt?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/failed-covid-contracts-cost-british-taxpayer-14-billion

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/19/uk-furlough-scheme-pays-out-millions-to-foreign-states-and-tax-exiles?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Again this is anecdotal and not necessarily everyone's experience. It seems like the "benefit cheat" narrative is widely accepted but the people who struggle to get disability benefits isn't.

This thread seems to have turned into - lets out people on Pip or lcwra as being a cheat.

In my area there's 14000 people on a waiting list for a council house

Why are you so fucking rude to everyone ? You clearly have issues why not just go away?

Crack on. See how you get on.

It’s not that I think I know that at all (if I am a person referred to) but I do think that you as his mum might not have a wholly objective view either. In no realm involving provision of state funds is anything ever all on the say so of the person concerned or their parent without checks and balances and reviews because it’s taxpayers money.

Therefore happily it’s not up to either of us as there is an assessment system to decide (for all its flaws). Taxpayers do have a legitimate interest in knowing whether that system is working correctly and it seems that on both sides of the debate it is agree that it isn’t.

It has been known that parents and carers of young people with disabilities might assume a person cannot do or has no potential to do something that in fact it later turns out they can.

Yes it is really is unfair and they are a drain on the system and should go back to their previous countries and see how they get on there yet the fuss made about people who have paid NI contributions and wanting to claim a pension in future is begrudged

Exactly this. I have had three concessions, post concussion syndrome, and a permanent neurological involuntary movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia that was caused by some prescribed off label antipsychotic.

I still work part time 5 days a week, and look after my family. It's good to set a bit of a good example for my children.

It depends on the individual it's not a simple question to answer.

I think what makes it easier for those diddling the system, is that there are now facebook and tiktok reels telling you what to say instead of saying for example, sometimes I can go to the shops.

Because these threads pop up near enough every day with uninformed posters spouting bullshit they've read in the Daily Mail and heard on GB News and when you've spent time and energy on dozens of these threads in the past trying to inform and educate those who just want to criticise the Bad Lazy Cripples™ only for them to pop up on another thread spouting the same uninformed bullshit, your patience wears a little thin.

Indeed.

It is good that you can manage that and have an understanding employer but not every one can manage and not everyone has an understanding employer.

But people rarely go to their GPs for mild anxiety. Anxiety is like back pain - so easy to exaggerate and get that diagnosis you’re looking for. Soon there’s only going to be a small percentage of us actually earning real money and not dipping into benefits, and we’ll be propping up all the others who can’t (don’t want to) work.

I genuinely feel like I've missed some kind of memo that says these threads are the Mumsnet version of the "Two Minute Hate" from 1984 where everyone just screams about benefits and no one is allowed to interrupt them with facts.

Wow. Well he’s been disabled since birth; he went through the special school system; adult social care funds his day centre placements; and the man at the job centre was the one who told me to get him assessed for LCWRA. But hey, what do I know?

Again PIP require far more than a patient says letter from the GP ,they will want to see assessments from relevant professionals

I think it’s just that people wrongly use PIP as a sort of shorthand to cover any and all disability or health related benefit which they usually do not know the names or acronyms for.

I also wish they would stop doing it as it is very confusing.

Yep.

I'm not disabled but my child is and because of that, I lost my job. No one wants to hire someone who needs regular time off to take their child to a constant stream of appointments.

Unless they are outright lying then finding the proper way to word things does not mean someone is diddling the system.
It is no different to looking up the best way to discuss your strengths and experience when applying for a job.
The PIP forms are complicated and you cant get away with saying that you just cant do something. I could not do mine at all. Same with the ones for universal credit. Someone with a lot of experience with how to word things filled them in. What they put on the forms was the truth though.

How do you assess someone who claims to have bad anxiety? It’s such an easy condition to manipulate someone into thinking it’s worse than what it is.

She answered her question so no need for the outrage. When my mum had cancer she went through her symptoms with me and how she felt. It's okay for people to talk about themselves if they wish and it's okay to ask questions shed not being rude. It's not bad to be inquisitive and show interest.

Good news, since you apparently missed this the first few hundred times it was mentioned:
PIP
IS
NOT
AN
OUT
OF
WORK
BENEFIT!!
So you can keep your job and still claim. If the, terribly convincing, anecdotes being shared on this thread are any indicator, all you need to do is write to the DWP, tell them you're a bit sad and they'll send you an envelope stuffed with cash by return post. No questions asked or evidence required.
Seriously though, the number of people on these threads who seem so incredibly jealous and resentful that they don't have a severe and life limiting disability so they can live the lavish tax-payer funded life of luxury all us PIP claimants apparently live would be funny, if it weren't so depressing.

They do it with universal credit too. UC covers several benefits but people see UC and think it means someone cant be bothered to work.

Well then you can be confident that my comment doesn’t apply to you and all should be well with the assessment as it will fairly distinguish that he is in need.

You didn’t post the detail before which is obviously fine as it’s his health info that no one has a right to but you also make snarky comments and then go off on one at people posting without that info. For all I know he could have gone to mainstream school all through with no support, got A levels and had a late private diagnosis in the last year. That’s also not an uncommon position to be making a claim from these days.