Tag Archives: Benefits

Benefit Proposal Changes

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Hello all,

As you have probably seen in the news the previous government wanted to make changes to benefits such as Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit.

Changing the benefits system would mean a huge challenge to some of the most vulnerable in society. Making claimants worse off.

The benefit changes which I am going to focus on are Personal Independence Payment. This is because as as a Disabled person this is something which I am more aware of.

I fully understand the Labour government has a deficit which it needs to fix. I fully support the idea of getting people who can work into work, if it is the right decision. But not all Disabled people can work. Not all areas of our society are accessible, which reduces Disabled peoples access to not only work, but life in general.

The fix cannot just be take benefits away and people will work. There are so many more layers to this.
Disabled people need access to specialist equipment, such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, Braille displays etc, which can cost a lot of money, they then ned to be able to access buildings which are not always accessible. The ‘Get Britain Working Again’ has so many different areas to it which need to be addressed it is not as simple as ‘heres a job go do it’. At least not for Disabled people.

The changes being proposed are things like replace money with vouchers. How long will it take to implement this? How many business are going to have to wade through filling in forms to replace a voucher given to them by a Disabled person just so they can exchange goods and services? Business will either stop serving Disabled people, making them even more marginalised, or the business will go out of business because they can’t keep going with lack of money while they wait for the vouchers to be exchanged back into cash. Meaning less services for Disabled people. Leading to more marginalisation.

Disabled people need better access to support and that is not going to come from putting more barriers in their way.

Follow stories of Disabled people online and you will see how unfair the system really is. Follow charities such as Scope (click here for Scope) and read about their campaigns to help Disabled to get the support they need. 

I am on Threads @VisuallyImpairedPip

I am in no way affiliated with Scope, I just think they do a great job.

Benefits, what now?

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Hello all,

I thought I’d drop in and post something as I am aware I haven’t posted anything since Scoliosis Awareness Month.

Since then we have had a General Election. How fun. I have taken the opportunity to write to my MP to congratulate them on staying in office. I have also used the opportunity to raise my concerns as a Disabled Constituent regarding the proposed changes to the benefits system by the previous party.

There was a lot of talk around introducing a voucher based system instead of Direct Debits into your bank. There are many issues with this such as; how do we know who will accept the vouchers? People are supposed to allow Guide Dogs into their establishments and that does not always happen. Even if it is the law.

How can we be sure that everywhere will accept these vouchers?

Also who is to say what we as Disabled people need to live our lives? Do we not get a choice when it comes to brands for what we need to purchase?

The money which we receive finds its way back into the economy when we spend it on the services we need. Such as mobility equipment, physiotherapy and sport massages (which may not be available on the NHS but go along way in helping with our pain management), cleaners, fuel for cars, heating and powering our homes. I could go on with this list but hopefully you get the idea.

Disabled people have to pay more just to be able to exist. We need to power mobility equipment, we need to keep our homes warm, we need to be able to pay for additional transport because public transport does not always exist.

I am hoping to hear back from my MP soon. I want to ensure this Government does not add to the stress and pressure which the previous government caused. Which has sadly lead to the deaths of many disabled people.

We must protect the most vulnerable in our society and that includes Disabled People.

I will probably write more on this issue soon.

Thank you,
Philippa B. 

Negative Narratives

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Hello allo, 

The government has really ramped up it’s messages about Disabled people hasn’t it? 

There has been a lot of negative narratives and harmful stereotyping surrounding our community. But where to begin…? 

I think I’ll start with the blatant lack of understanding. The government does not seem to not understand the benefits system… They do not seem to understand that Personal Independence Payment or PIP, can claimed whether the person is in work or out of work. 

Furthermore it appears as though people do not fully understand the word ‘independence’. The payment exists to support Disabled people with extra costs of living with a Disability. 

You also do not automatically get the benefit because you are diagnosed with ADHD, or a Visual Impairment etc. 

It is a horrible process which a Disabled Person needs to go through. They ave to fill out a really long form where they tell the DWP how their Disability affects them. Once they have filled in this form, and provided medical evidence they then have to go to an assessment centre or have someone come to their home and ask them really invasive questions about their daily routine, washing habits, eating habits, whether or not they have job or friends… then the Disabled person is given a score and this score then adds up to how many points they get. This scoring system then decides if they are allowed any benefits which could help them to cover the extra costs which come with being disabled. 

More often than not the person will fail this assessment and will then have the option to appeal the decision. Again the decision could come back as a ‘no sorry your visually impaired and can’t see very well, you don’t ever leave the house alone on new or unfamiliar journeys, but you don’t qualify’. 

Then the Disabled Person has the option to essentially take the government to court. This is called a tribunal. You have to go and sit in front of a Judge and Doctors and make the case that you are Disabled and just want some help with the extra cost of living and keeping yourself alive. 

The tribunal process is separate to the DWP and it is independent. It does not have any government backed companies behind it, like ATOS trying to save the government money. 

A majority of the time Disabled People win these tribunals because the people at them are medical professionals and people who practice law. Therefore they understand the person in front of them and their needs and what they are entitled too. 

Do you honestly believe it is an easy process putting yourself through all of that? So many Disabled do not have the energy or support to go trough it. Quite often Disabled people might end up taking their own lives because they have run out of energy and money to support themselves because whilst they are fighting all of this they have no benefits because they have been stopped. 

Whilst I am writing this I am very much aware of the level of pain my right side is in due to my Scoliosis. 

Do not judge Disabled People. We have just as much as right to exist as anyone else. Our lives have meaning. 

If you are reading this and were not aware of how these new policies will impact Disabled People please contact your MP and express to them your concerns. Help Disabled People to be able to just have the right live. 

Thank you, 

Philippa B.