UK: Disability benefits (UC, ESA and PIP) - news and updates 2023 (including government plans to scrap the work capability assessment)

So sorry to hear this @wastwater

 

Really sorry to hear that, @wastwater. One decision can unravel everything, and even if it's eventually overturned, I know from experience that it's an absolute ordeal to go through. I hope you're okay and you're able to manage an appeal.

 

Yes thanks I have been through the process before it always seems somewhat random to me.

 

PIP benefits shake-up coming in weeks - and it could make it easier to claim (msn.com)

 

"...which offers even fewer opportunities to put a good case than the current review form, because there's no group whose awards we'd like the chance to cut more than people over state pension age.

If they have to abandon an appeal partway through due to ill-health or lack of support, or they don't have the nous to return their form by Special Delivery, meaning we can deny we ever got it, they're unable to make a fresh claim for PIP.

Oops! Sorry and all that."

 

the article goes on to say

 

Latest totals for WCA assessments carried out. Published 8th June 2023 covering up to December 2022

 

New consultation on changes to the WCA (UK ESA/UC benefit assessment for out of work sick and disabled)

https://assets.publishing.service.g...t-activities-and-descriptors-consultation.pdf

Document proposes tightening of four criteria, most notably for mobilising(!) and getting about. Also proposes tightening criteria on substantial risk (basically a safety net for if you fail the test but still can't do work related activity). Proposals range between getting rid of these elements of the test altogether or making them tighter, so as to stop people getting unconditional benefits by passing the test on that basis. My assumption is that they've decided to do the latter but are presenting the consultation in this way to make the proposals look less extreme.

Rule changes around substantial risk are particularly egregious as it acts as a safety net for the rest of the highly flawed test. The assumption is that people with limited capability for work related activity could complete such things given the right environment. The reality is that job centre workers ramp up the difficulty level of WRA to push people off of benefits. i went thru an appeal for this benefit recently and i know the ins and outs of this. Either way, it would constitute an enormous cut to the money those people receive.

My feeling is that, if this is implemented, there will reach a point where many more of us, myself included, with be faced with the choice between making ourselves more unwell to keep up with conditionality or having our money cut off completely. My understanding is they want to bring this in by 2025. Likelihood is that the tories will no longer be in power and Labour will have their own programme, which will possibly be slightly less bad but, more hopefully, be potentially neutered a bit by backbench rebellion. All very worrying regardless tbh.

 

This is extreme1y worrying. Basica11y eugenics by a new name (supposed support...).

It's particu1ar1y attacking autistic peop1e and those with neuro1ogica1 difference and those with chronic energy 1imiting i11ness (I suspect a resu1t of Covid). To reach the maximum points that give the 1imited capacity for work re1ated activity the thresho1d is a1ready very high, you have to be severe1y affected by your condition.

It's sickening. I think I wi11 be writing to my MP about this. I hope a11 the charities campaign against any of these changes.

 

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

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...w-welfare-reforms-to-help-thousands-into-work

Distinct feeling that they're rushing thru this. Tendency with consultations in general has been to decide policy first and then put a faint sheen of pseudo-accountability over the top

 

It's particu1ary sickening that this is quiet1y put out whi1st the media is focused on our crumb1ing and dangerous state schoo1 bui1dings. So it 1ike1y won't even get into the mainstream news.

 

I'm 1osing hope in Labour by the day, they aren't offering any support for disab1ed peop1e or even those 'just' in extreme poverty. It's impossib1e now to separate disabi1ity from po1itics, it fee1s 1ike disab1ed and sick peop1e are now just non peop1e. Suicides wi11 vast1y increase if these changes go through and probab1y deaths by starvation as we11.

 

Cannot like but i don't disagree with you. Appointment of Liz Kendall to the shadow DWP brief yesterday feels like a decisively bad move in this direction

 

Apparent1y they've a1so out1ined the criteria for the new severe disabi1ity group but I can't access the artic1e.

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfar...plified-disability-benefit-assessment-process

Benefits and Work site a1so seems to be down. I expect they'11 be covering both these in their news stream.

 

Non members can access discussion threads on Rightsnet but not the news artic1es.

There are a1ready new threads appearing -

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/19568/

 

Just a reminder of how extreme the WCA points scoring system is. It doesn't even 1ook at how various aspects of ones i11nesses and disabi1ities interact and 1ead to more extreme disabi1ity.

https://www.advicenow.org.uk/know-h...her or not you are,were found capable of work.

 

This is c1ear1y a way to get many ESA c1aimants out of the support group years before the DWP stated they wou1d (they said not before 2028 as I reca11 as the remova1 of the WCA was on1y going to be ro11ed out to UC c1aimants for the first years after the new 1egis1ation was going to be done in the 'new par1iament'). They've obvious1y decided that that won't cut the benefit bi11 by enough if they get back in power, and this is what this is about.

This issue is current1y being discussed on Times Radio, the presenter seems to 1ove Me1 Stride (8-10pm). I can't rea11y 1isten to it but had just 1eft the radio on when I heard the start of the discussion. TBH I often can't 1isten to the evening presenters, I genera11y just 1ike a few of the daytime ones who I find are much more ba1anced.

 

This is, I mean, utterly extreme compared to how disability benefits are assessed in America. We have a 5-step process. An extremely condensed version would be:

• Is your condition bad enough that you obviously can't work? (See the Blue Book)
  
• If it's not, are there basically no full-time jobs you could do? (This gives you a taste for how they evaluate it, or proving you can't do sedentary work)

Social Security is more realistic and requires a much higher level of functioning to consider you capable. For example, PIP only considers an inability to walk in your favor if you can't go 200 meters, but Social Security will consider it if you can't walk for two hours a day. That won't get you automatically approved, but it whittles down the jobs you could do. Social Security explicitly considers whether you can do something reliably and throughout the day, not just once.They consider subtle factors like attendance and concentration, because in the real world, nobody wants to hire someone who can only concentrate 80% as long as a healthy person or misses two days a month.

I have significant physical limitations, but I wouldn't get any physical points in a WCA. That's pretty bad.

 

They are supposed to consider re1iabi1ity and repeatabi1ity in both the PIP and ESA benefits, but the assessors often don't do this. I am very carefu1 to emphasise both rapid fatigabi1ity and PEM (with detai1ed descriptions of each and how it affects me for each descriptor) when I fi11 in the forms, but many c1aimants don't know how to do this. Origina11y these weren't made exp1icit in the origina1 1egis1ation, they were added after and inserted into the 1egis1ation after one of the 'independent reviews' of the WCA, which means the descriptors are ambiguous in the wording.