Disability News Service: "DWP U-turns on PIP mobility rules that were based on ‘unsupported opinions’"

[Andy]

Mr Justice Mostyn said in his judgement last month that DWP’s intention had been “to save money” and that the decision to introduce the new regulations had been “manifestly without reasonable foundation”.

He said the work and pensions secretary had relied on a senior civil servant whose advice that people with psychological distress “generally have a lower level of functional need” had been “no more than a subjective opinion or hypothesis” and “a generalised assertion” without “factual or evidential basis”.

Kotova said this was not the first time the government had failed to ground its policies in solid evidence.

She said: “We are outraged that the policy which has an impact on thousands of disabled people was based on unsupported opinions of the DWP’s experts.

“Sadly, the DWP does not know what our lives are really like and does not want to know, as they have failed to meaningfully engage with disabled people and our organisations for a long time.”

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.c...ules-that-were-based-on-unsupported-opinions/

 

[MEMarge]

Now they need convincing that severe cognitive impairment, physical inability to move your own wheelchair due to arm weakness, extreme pain and exhaustion are also sufficient reason to make this descriptor meaningless for many people with ME.

This separation between being able to plan a route and actually doing it serves no purpose. If you cannot go anywhere on your own; were last on a train about 10 years ago with 4 friends and have never been on a bus what is the use of theoretically being able to plan a route when you couldn't reach the end of the road on your own!

Yes I am in rant mode. I might even reactivate my "Super Marge Simpson" avatar.

 

[Invisible Woman]

@MEMarge you tell 'em girl!

The fact is that the questions are written in such a way to elicit as little meaningful information about the claimant as they can get away with.

 

[Valentijn]

Yes I am in rant mode. I might even reactivate my "Super Marge Simpson" avatar.

That's how reading about the UK benefits application process makes me feel anyhow