U-turn on PIP reforms - 4 point rule will only apply to new claims

[IShouldNotCoco]

https://news.sky.com/story/government-to-make-concessions-to-labour-rebels-over-welfare-reforms-sky-news-understands-13388797

So I'm a bit confused
Will existing claimants still need to get 4 points in one criteria after Nov 2026 to get PIP ?

Never in a million years would I vote Reform.

I'm afraid you can't blame Reform for this bill. This is Labour's doing.

From what I've read, existing claimants will not see any changes if the bill is voted through with the new concessions. New claimants will face the new 4 points criteria, hence the two-tier accusations.

If this is true I'm absolutely delighted for millions of disabled people who the government tried to fuck right over.

I still disagree with any cuts/reforms to pip but at least those of us already claiming will be OK for this part. I do have 4 points for one thing but it's still really disturbing and I know I'm more fortunate than many others with worse illnesses.

UK spends more on disability than defence — how did we get here?

https://www.thetimes.com/article/32db3c90-8e98-4688-91dc-81aee860b48d?shareToken=7010d9be0e0d2df5ab7754891943a997

The current welfare bill is unsustainable. If you look at the graph in the article, it is expected to rise to £50 billion by 2030.

Of course, some of this is an ageing population, but some of it isn’t.

Do people really expect this level of support to continue indefinitely?

Here’s a thought - perhaps supporting the ill and disabled is a better use of funds than buying weapons and killing people in wars ? Why would anyone aspire to live in society where potential war is more valued than human life

@Funnymushrooms ,

That is a really strange way of looking at things!

It reminds me of Ken Livingstone’s huge sign on County Hall ‘London is a nuclear free zone’, as if the USSR’s missiles would stop mid air and turn around when they read it.

Should we stop wasting money on the police too and just tell everyone to be nice and not to commit crime?!

Yes the welfare bill is too big. BUT you need to look at root causes. Long long waiting lists in the nhs so people are stuck waiting for operations. A mental health service that is on its knees so people aren’t treated until they reach crisis point, by which point it is extremely hard to come back from. A teen MH crisis that isn’t dealt with as CAMHS waiting lists are so horrendous and then they drop teens before proper support is in place. A school system that is failing many.

Yes I don’t think the RoW will oblige so readily. Unfortunately.

Although not great, at least there will still be some change to reduce the madness before the country is bankrupt. No other country has had such a dramatic rise in apparent disability in the last decade, but then no other country gives such strong financial incentives to claim to be disabled.

They need to bring back in person assessments and make it absolutely clear that all claims need to be based on a person's typical day, and not a fictional worst day.

There’s enough money for both it’s not help the disabled or adequately defend the country. It’s being portrayed as that as part of an agenda.

Quite!

Having known many victims of crime over the past few years it may as well be the case as nothing was done about any of the incidents !

A quarter of working age adults in Northern Ireland are on disability benefits. Half of all cars in NI are motability cars, subsidised by the taxpayer and driven by the families and friends of claimants.

This situation is madness and cannot continue but it seems no political party is willing to tackle it.

No, what has happened is that

1. people eligible for PIP have figured out they are entitled to this benefit and therefore claim it. There is lots of support online telling you how to do this. Social media as well.
2. Thanks to Brexit (which no other country has to contend with), food prices have shot up and more people claim who probably wouldn’t have bothered before.

Mobility cars are funded out of the mobility component of PIP. They are not extra. They are funded using the PIP itself. And the person has to receive enhanced mobility.

NI policy is impacting food prices.

@IShouldNotCoco I also think that years of failed SEND provision is also showing in the numbers of young adults claiming as they didn't get the right support in childhood. I actually have a 21 yr old ds who was utterly failed. He then claimed UC and was told to claim for incapacity and pip but he really wanted to get into work. At that point (credit where credit is due) our local job centre really sprang into action and he's now doing an apprenticeship & doing functional maths and English at college.

How does this affect people who are currently in receipt of PIP when it comes to renewal? Are they saying that the old rules will be applied at renewal for existing claimants (as of today) or will the new rules apply when it's time to renew? No clarity at the moment 🙄

Weak? He is being hauled over the coals, the press having a field day etc. His party have spoken, this was a very unpopular policy and disability groups have advised him it’s putting people at risk. Weakness would be to stay the course no matter who said what or what the consequences for other people. He is prepared to stand up and say he needs to change course. That takes a lot of strength. I’d rather have a politician who is prepared to do that than one to drives the nation off a cliff just to save their own face.

As a former DWP civil servant I can absolutely confirm that the increase in the Disability welfare bill is because DWP bosses are more concerned about clearing claims and targets than getting factual evidence to either support or refute a claim. If they put more time at the front end, allowing Case Mangers to do their job properly, instead of constant pressure to make decisions quickly, then the welfare bill would not be as high and there would be less resource needed at Mandatory Reconsideration and Appeal stage. Ministers just look at the headline figures without looking at the whole process. Absolute jokers, who are the ones guilty of wasting tax payers money not the disabled person who dares to claim to try and have a reasonable quality of life!

This is incorrect. Half of all newly registered cars come from the scheme. This isn’t surprising given the number of new car sales in NI has dipped significantly. If fewer people are choosing to buy new cars, it stands to reason the percentage of motability vehicles will increase, that’s how statistics work.

You have absolutely no proof the majority of these vehicles are being misused.

As has been said countless times, on these threads, sometimes the level that people are awarded, is not in line with their needs, and they have to go further to be awarded correctly. Yes you are fortunate, as you put it, if you have not had these issues when it comes to having assessments. I have no faith in this Government, and do not believe that this is the end of it, as far as what they intend to do with their welfare reforms.

Yeah I totally agree. I'm know I'm very lucky but many friends have had to go through appeals and are still not in the right group. I don't have any faith in the government either frankly.