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Sam Ray-Chaudhuri, a Research Economist at IFS and an author of the report, said: "The government proposes moving to a system where being unable to work will no longer directly confer any additional financial support from the benefits system. On the whole, this strengthens financial incentives...

Of course, @JellyBabyKid. I'm glad I thought of something useful, because I can see from what you & others have written that I've missed points out in my response. Yes, that's true, @Simbindi. I'm sorry you went through that. If PIP is means-tested, the right to an income disappears altogether...

Thanks @Simbindi & @JellyBabyKid for such good work against these terrible proposals. I did respond to the consultation about a week ago. It wasn't very good, but at least I expressed my objections. I messed up in that I typed quite a long reply to the first question & only then scrolled down to...

Benefits and Work have put together a page showing all the proposed changes to benefits/WCA. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/wca-changes-news?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=benefits-and-work&utm_content=V2+11+October+2023+Newsletter As a side issue, I...

My partner went for his flu jab, but also got the Covid one, because of me! It's weird that I didn't get it, but I'm pleased for him. It may also be the best outcome for me. He's my main (almost only) conduit with the outside world, so it'll lower chances of transmission, but also I'm not doing...

I don't think people should take Benefits & Work's worst case wca test. It'd be too distressing & the comments includes people who have taken it & wish they hadn't. As things stand, spending on Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit health support is due to rise 13% in real terms –...

I wish you all the best, Josep. It's a nightmare. There was a whole lot more bad stuff yesterday. I'm not up to linking to it. I do wonder when they report mental health and musculo/skeletal problems issues as the main reasons for the increase in economic inactivity & sick leave. I don't...

The source they use for "work is good for you" is a paper by Gordon Waddell, associate of and co-author with Mansell Aylward. See Is work Good for your Health and Well-being? Waddell and Burton 2006 (GOV.UK) ↩

This is horrific. There is a consultation on this, but I can't find a date for end of submissions.

It's heads we win, tails you lose. Any & all personality types or traits they can shoehorn us into are signs of our wrongness, even if these are two diametrically opposed types/traits simultaneously. More generally, I always wonder if the BPS lot go through life without ever experiencing...

Yes, that's interesting, and shows that we can be exceeding our limits, even if we don't think we are. Several of them seem more severe than their designation & the woman described as mild seemed very unwell. I don't think it's always true that people who are designated as mild, because they...

Apart from all the points highlighted by the excellent analysis here, I've always been intensely irritated by the fact that Question 11 - How is your memory? is a different type of question from the others. It invites a narrative response, but is supposed to be scored as a value. "More than...

Thanks, Trish. I probably will mention the symptoms. They are nice at my GPs surgery, but in this case I think I'd prefer it if they fobbed me off & didn't refer me on. In a sane world, of course, I'd want a referral, but it's being so close to FND central that is giving me pause.

I'm in a quandary at the moment. I have an upcoming GP appointment which I made up about a new rash. I don't know whether I should mention other newish symptoms which I think are neurological. I've written about them on the Signs & Symptoms - Strange Sensations thread. I'm particularly worried...

At the most basic level, I was shocked at how many authorities ticked not applicable, as though the care of people with ME wasn't their responsibility. More generally, where there are ME/CFS or LC clinics they seem so pleased with themselves. If you strip out the harmful stuff, the harmful...

Thanks, Andy.

i haven't read this properly yet so I'm maybe getting it wrong - but is subtyping based on the assumption that respondents don't have certain conditions (whether they are truly comorbidities or intrinsic parts of ME) if they don't have a formal diagnosis. I have the symptoms of PoTS, MCAS, IBS...

I started yesterday, but have paused to consider whether I want to allow access to my medical records. I have a lot of trust in the DecodeME team, so it's not about that. I'm just worried about what's in my medical records. I've not been treated as badly some, but I have been gaslit, and there...

Another worrying aspect is that they want to dive in early in the disease progression with their exercise/CBT research. At the very point where people have a reasonable chance of recovery, they'll get their hands on them to ensure life-long disability.

Like Kitty, I just can't make myself read through my assessment. I find it too distressing. My PIP decision was both enhanced for 10 years, so I was very happy with that, but I saw that I had no points for "preparing for a journey" which I'd talked a lot about. After seeing that I didn't read...