UK: Disability benefits (UC, ESA and PIP) - news and updates 2024 and 2025

Similarly more people die in Hospital beds than in outpatient departments, so should hospitals do away with any inpatient facilities and treat every one on an outpatient basis? It would also save lots of money.

 

That reminds me (though I can't remember the specifics) of some politician or other who wanted league tables for hospitals, including rating surgeons on how many of their patients survived their operations. Until someone pointed out that the best surgeons often have rather high death rates because they get given the most complex and difficult cases.

 

Hmm
giving benefits stops you working or getting better. That sounds….familiar.

I did not have “Labour internalises BSP and rolls it out as policy, across all disability benefits” on my 2025 bingo card, but here we are.

 

Whilst we are on the subject of PIP points, it would be interesting to see a full breakdown of how many get each point category.
Does anyone get 8 for anything?
How many people in EWNI are paraplegic and are they all claiming PIP?

 

That's an interesting one, I don't know.

I don't—I've got a 12 and two 4s, but not an 8.

 

This is very well put. Would you mind if I quoted it to my MP and in my green paper response?

One of our group has an MP meeting I have offered to right a briefing for, and this would be very helpful indeed.

 

I didn't apply for PIP until 2019. I'd been ill over 30 years. I got the form for DLA once but found it more than I could cope with. I lived on ESA and it's predecessors. Now ESA doesn't cover my basic bills and food, so I'm not surprised that one of the reasons more people are claiming is financial.

I've written to my MP five times since the election. Never had a reply.

Before the election I wrote to all the candidates as part of a Scope campaign. My now MP replied at length. She said fighting for the rights of a close relative who is disabled was what had brought her into politics. She continued as below -



Labour is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to the principle of working with you, so that your views and voices will be at the heart of all we do. If a Labour government is elected tomorrow, we will introduce the full right to equal pay for disabled people. Building on gender pay gap reporting, we will introduce disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers. A Labour government will also tackle the Access to Work backlog in the UK system and make sure people can try out a job without fear of an immediate benefit reassessment if it does not work out. And I know there is much more to do as well, which I would be happy to discuss with you if elected as your MP tomorrow.

 

Yes, that's true, but the bit about "Labour is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to the principle of working with you, so that your views and voices will be at the heart of all we do" suggested something very different from what's happening. They haven't done any of things for working disabled people either, and Access to Work is being cut back.

 

It would be interesting to repeat that back to your MP and say this is what you promised in your manifesto and is the opposite; explain what happened

But you said she hadn't responded and I suspect you will get the stock "things were worse than we anticipated" response even if you did.

 

Yeah, I have done. It's a lost cause, but disappointing because she actually invited me to discuss things with her. (My emails covered ME issues as well as the DWP.)

Congratulations, though, to anyone who managed to elicit positive responses from their MPs.

 

I wrote my MP about the proposed PIP changes a couple weeks ago. My MP is conservative though. I got this reply:

Many thanks for your email to Alison. I’m very sorry to hear about your concerns regarding the implementation of these changes.

Alison has heard from a number of constituents who have raised similar issues, and she is committed to doing all she can to support her constituents.

She will keep your concerns in mind and look for appropriate opportunities to raise them with Government Ministers and Parliamentary colleagues.

In addition, Alison has written to the Minister on your behalf to share your concerns directly. She will let you know as soon as she hears back.

Do let me know if there is anything further you feel Alison can do to assist, with this or any other matter.

 

It seems the whole western political world seems obsessed with getting disabled people to work, but also are unwilling to improve healthcare or research to give us opportunities to do so.

If I were able to work I would do so because my life was a thousand percent easier when I was working.

 

It’s the “secret” unknown workings of PIP isn’t it?
I know, I’ve “felt” it, that there is some language or something missing from what I’m saying which is keeping me low on points - despite genning up on the rules and putting my case across perfectly well and 8n line with their guidance.
I’m tempted to do an FOI

 

Out of curiosity I looked up the daily living activities for which 8 points are available. There were more than I remembered.

Only the first one applies to me more than 50% of the time, but I wouldn't expect to be able to argue it—at least not if I want my assessment done on paper. And I already have enough points for an enhanced award.

Activity 1
Cannot prepare and cook food.

Activity 3
Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to be able to manage therapy that takes more than 14 hours a week.

Activity 4
Cannot wash and bathe at all and needs another person to wash their entire body.

Activity 5
Needs assistance to be able to manage incontinence of both bladder and bowel.

Activity 6
Cannot dress or undress at all.

Activity 7
Needs communication support to be able to express or understand basic verbal information.

Activity 8
Cannot read or understand signs, symbols or words at all.

Activity 9
Cannot engage with other people due to such engagement causing either - (i) overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant; or (ii) the claimant to exhibit behaviour which would result in a substantial risk of harm to the claimant or another person.

 

I loved my work so much and still grieve over losing it. I definitely would be there if I could.

 

yeah, me too. I hate that you lost that thing you loved PrairieLights.

For the first time in my adult life I had found a job I loved. I woke up every morning genuinely looking forward to my day, sometimes even excited.

And even a job I hated would be 1000x better than this! I'd love to be well enough to work
Editd to add (or for that matter be well enough to wash my own hair, cook a meal, walk to the bottom of my garden, or predictably be able to log onto my bank account without support, or work out how many oranges at 80p each I can buy with £10)

 

Yes, I’m interested to know generally how many pip claimants in % terms get which score. I think I’ll have to email benefits and work or someone as I don’t have the energy to do the FOI but I’m really interested.

On the one hand is the narrative of “scroungers” raking it in getting benefits for being a bit adhd or young or lazy.

I suspect there is a provable counter-narrative of x many severely disabled people of whom only 3% are getting top points PIP for being totally physically incapacitated at all times, etc.

 

I hated my workplace but miss working. I dream I’ve interviewed for a job then I have to go to work and I remember I can’t when I get there on my first day, and they say I seem fine so I struggle through knowing I’ll call in sick and quit the next day.