PIP

I think it is not worth worrying over any details at the moment as we are entering unknown territory.
The Green paper will be dropped. The proposal to investigate bank accounts did not make it through before Parliament was dissolved. Yes, there are things a government can do via statutory regulations which don’t go through parliament, but at the moment we can’t predict what a new government will do. The various party manifestos are being launched this week, so we might get a better idea in a few days.

LOUISA1523

I wouldnt worry about it whiff....it was put forward by Rishi ....he won't have any power in 4 weeks time .... that said I DO think PIP claims will be tightened up ....I think the eligibility criteria will change making it harder to be successful at claiming ....but it will still be a cash benefit

I think Starmer will be forced to do something. The Tories have left a poison chalice for whoever comes next and if/when Labour comes to power they will have to act on the results of the consultation. I do think some sort of reform of PIP will still be implemented, although, as you say, maybe a tightening of the eligibility criteria rather than some of the draconian measures proposed in the green paper. I’m not optimistic though - when Sunak announced the proposals for sickness benefit recipients, Starmer was reported as saying he didn’t think they went far enough, so we can only wait and see.

I would hope we’d get a bit more honesty from Labour about the actual cost of disability benefits, because the numbers bandied about by the Tories don’t add up, and seem to have included those who have been migrated from DLA to PIP twice, thus inflating the figures to make ideological and unnecessary changes more palatable to the public.

The Tories have always hated disability benefits, and if those who were on DLA at the time the Coalition government came to power cast their minds back, there was a commitment outlined in the Conservative manifesto to preserve DLA intact and a statement to that effect appeared on the website, saying that the Tories ‘knew how important DLA was to the wellbeing of disabled people’. It took them a couple of months to break that promise when they announced the change to PIP in the post election financial statement. They proudly announced that for the first time, those with mental health conditions would be able to claim disability benefits. As a result - aided and abetted by the not fit for purpose assessment process for PIP, claims have rocketed and they’re now using that as the reason for tightening the rules yet again. Rules that are already so narrowly drawn that they purposely exclude those with severe disabilities because they are the ones who cost the most to support.

Grantanow

Well. You wouldn't want recipients of PIP or AA to spend it on things that make life more bearable would you? The idea of vouchers, etc., stems from a Tory assumption that the little people can't make sensible decisions about spending. Maybe we should pay Ministers with vouchers so they wouldn't waste money on frivolities.

As with the proposal to monitor the bank accounts of benefit claimants - including state pension recipients. If the monitoring included the bank accounts of MPs - who are also in receipt of funds from the public purse - l doubt they would be so keen to implement the policy.

Grantanow Oh , how I agree with you.

Well. You wouldn't want recipients of PIP or AA to spend it on things that make life more bearable would you? The idea of vouchers, etc., stems from a Tory assumption that the little people can't make sensible decisions about spending. Maybe we should pay Ministers with vouchers so they wouldn't waste money on frivolities.

Thanks for in information Whiff, I will certainly check it out.

Brilliant post Monica, summed it up for me, thankyou.

It’s a stupid idea - I can’t see it coming into practice. How would it work, giving a taxi driver, cleaner or gardener a bl**dy voucher! Ridiculous!

DD2 gets DLA but only for mobility and that goes direct to Motabity for her car.

I have just done it.

Whiff I will go there and complete the form as soon as I have written this post.

I know Attendance Allowance is not PIP, but when I worked for a charity for older people I know how many andvaried were the things people spent their benefit on. Will a 'catalogue, voucher or grant' pay a neigbour, to go down to a chip shop once a week and get proper fish and chips and then come in and give half an hours company to a housebound client living alone. Will it replace a hated pair of curtains a client inherited with a flat and couldn't afford to replace until they got AA? Will they reward a young grandson who visited his grandma every morning on his way to school, to check she had taken her pills and to make her a cup of tea?

I wouldnt worry about it whiff....it was put forward by Rishi ....he won't have any power in 4 weeks time .... that said I DO think PIP claims will be tightened up ....I think the eligibility criteria will change making it harder to be successful at claiming ....but it will still be a cash benefit

Thanks for this Whiff. My daughter-in-law receives PIP. I'll mention the proposed changes to her, as she can't easily access the news and may not know.