If you are on PIP, you need to take action now to prevent PIP turning into a vouchers only scheme, a receipt scheme, a catalogue scheme, or a one off grant!
These are the options for the “new PIP” from the PIP green paper which is a result of the PIP consultation that the Tories started and is still ongoing, so if we don’t fight back, this is what we will be getting instead of PIP!
A voucher scheme
One off grant
Receipt based
A catalogue scheme
Imagine losing your PIP and getting one of these instead! Well this is the future if we don’t fight back.
They want to change PIP for the worse and we only have a limited time to give our feedback.
You only have until the 22 July 2024 to take part!
This is the overview page on the government website, but I have detailed information below so have a read through my simple guide below.
Please do take part and be vocal about it on social media. We need to fight back and post about it so that more people know about this.
Typing is hard for me too, but I still did it as I write over time, doing a bit when I can.
PLEASE do the same and fill it in. This is incredibly important!
Please do take action as this affects everyone on PIP!
I have to write things over a few days, so you can do the same too, but please do take action!
You can write up your answers over as many days as you need, but please do take part as we need as many replies to this as we can get! Also post about it on social media so others know to do the same.
You do not need to answer every single question!
I have written down the most important questions to answer below, so if you can’t or don’t want to answer everything, you don’t need to.
You can also just email them your thoughts if you prefer, but the survey is a good way to give your opinion.
This is the section that affects us the most and this is what you need to talk about.
There are many other things you can talk about too if you read through the proposal, but this is the biggest issue.
This is what they want to do instead of giving you the money from PIP:
Alternatives to a cash transfer system
83. If DWP were to consider other ways of supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions apart from providing regular cash payments, it could continue to contribute to people’s extra costs through alternative models which could include:
- Catalogue/ shop scheme: in this kind of scheme, there would be an approved list from which disabled people could choose items at reduced or no cost. This would likely work better for equipment and aids rather than for services.
- Voucher scheme: in this kind of scheme, disabled people could receive vouchers to contribute towards specific costs. It could work for both equipment/aids and for services.
- A receipt-based system: this would involve claimants buying aids, appliances, or services themselves, and then providing proof of their purchase to claim back a contribution towards the cost. This could work in a similar way to Access to Work, which provides grants for equipment, adaptations, and other costs to help disabled people to start and stay in work.
- One-off grants: these could contribute towards specific, significant costs such as for home adaptations or expensive equipment. It could involve a person supplying medical evidence of their condition to demonstrate the need for equipment or adaptations.
How to give your feedback
This is the overview page on the government website
Here is the proposal in full which also lists the questions from the survey.
This is the form you can use to give your feedback
or
You can email [email protected]
If you would like to respond by post, please mark your correspondence ‘Modernising Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper’ and send to:
Disability and Health Support Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions
Level 2
Caxton House
Tothill Street
London
SW1H 9NA
The form is the best way to give your feedback and remember you don’t need to answer everything, you can just do a few if you choose, although I have written the most important questions below.
Here is another helpful guide from the benefits and work website.
Also on that page is a text only version of the form that you can download and fill in, so that might be helpful for some of you.
Things to mention on the survey
- How we need the money, how it is for expenditures being disabled and for many of us, it is our only income!
- How changing to vouchers or a one off grant is a ridiculous idea as it wouldn’t able to be used on things such as bills or online shopping for food
- Tell them what you use the PIP for as it is isn’t just items, it is things such as paying bills, buying food, delivery fees, transport fees etc. Make sure you make this clear as they are just not understanding how we use it.
- How vouchers would be useless as most of us don’t shop in store and use online shopping, plus we don’t just use it for items, we use it for bills as well as food.
How a one off grant is no use and wouldn’t help at all. - Say how we have extra transport fees, higher utility bills from being home more, accessibility aids, delivery costs for having things delivered due to not being able to go in store, carer fees etc
- Make sure you mention how we use PIP for living costs such as groceries and delivery fees, gas, electric, water, council tax, general delivery fees as we can’t all go out, taxi fees for when you need to go out etc. Make sure you mention this as they don’t seem to understand PIP.
- PIP fraud was at 0% as per the governments own figures! Make sure that is mentioned too.
- PLEASE mention that many disabled people can’t get ESA due to national insurance contributions and live on PIP alone, so if PIP was changed or stopped, many of us would have NO INCOME AT ALL!
I only get PIP so if this changed, I wouldn’t be able to survive! Please mention this so they know how important PIP is to many people.
Read about my story further down this page.
Most Important Questions To Answer
You can answer as much or as little as you want, but these are the most important questions to answer:
- Question 18:
PIP provides a contribution towards extra costs. Which extra costs incurred by disabled people are the most important for a new scheme to address? Please rank the following options in your order of importance (with 1 being the most important and 10 being the least important). - Question 19:
In relation to Question 18, please explain your answer and tell us about any other important kinds of cost not listed above. - Question 20:
What are the benefits and disadvantages of moving to a new system for PIP claimants?
A catalogue/ shop scheme.
Benefits/disadvantages. - Question 21:
What are the benefits and disadvantages of moving to a new system for PIP claimants?
A voucher scheme.
Benefits/disadvantages. - Question 22:
What are the benefits and disadvantages of moving to a new system for PIP claimants?
A receipt-based system.
Benefits/disadvantages. - Question 23:
What are the benefits and disadvantages of moving to a new system for PIP claimants?
One-off grants.
Benefits/disadvantages. - Question 26:
Are there specific groups of people whose needs are not being met by the current PIP provision and have a need for a greater level of support?
(People who can’t get ESA such as myself, need extra money as not everyone can get ESA due to national insurance contributions which is ridiculous, so I live on PIP alone and need more than PIP offers) - Question 26:
Instead of cash payment, are there some people who would benefit more from improved access to support or treatment.
(Make sure to answer this and say no, we need the money as this is a ridiculous question!) - Question 28:
Do people already receive support from local authorities or the NHS with the need/costs that come with having a disability or health condition?
(Another to answer no to. Again another silly question, no we don’t get enough elsewhere!) - Question 29:
In relation to Question 28, please explain your answer and provide evidence or your opinion to support further development of our approach. - Question 30:
Which of the following do local authorities or the NHS help with?
(For me, nothing at all!) - Question 31:
In relation to Question 30, please explain your answer and provide evidence or your opinion to support further development of our approach. - Question 32:
Which needs/costs that come with having a disability or health condition could local areas help with further? - Question 33:
In relation to Question 32, please explain your answer and provide evidence or your opinion to support further development of our approach. - Question 34:
If we align the support offered by PIP into existing local authority and NHS services, how could this improve things for disabled people and people with health conditions? - Question 35:
Do you think aligning PIP with local authority and NHS services could reduce the number of assessments a person with a disability or health condition would have to undergo? Would this help to reduce duplication? - Question 36:
What disability support services in your community are the most important services or support to deliver? - Question 38:
What capacity and capability would be required to better align PIP with local authority and NHS services?
What else can we do?
You can write to your MP and Liz Kendall and tell them how bad this is and how the idea needs scrapping all together.
This was started by the Conservatives, but it carried on into the new Labour government.
Find your MP and email them or use the writetothem website
Email Liz Kendall
You can also post about this topic and share this post with others so they can act too.
We need as many people as we can to take part in this!
How this would affect me personally
I live on PIP alone which leaves me on a poverty income of £400 a month.
If PIP is changed or stopped, I will have no income at all!
I use PIP for bills such as gas, electric, water, council tax, grocery bills, delivery fees for anything as I can’t go out to buy things, plus taxi fees if needed to go to the hospital or doctors. PIP funds everything for me and if it goes, I will be unable to stay alive. That is the sad truth.
I can’t get ESA because in the 2 years prior to applying for ESA, I couldn’t physically work enough hours to pay national insurance contributions, so I can now NEVER get ESA as I could never work the hours required to pay NI. So I live on PIP alone!
I worked full time for years, then part time, then part time casual, before being unable to work at all.
Because I worked instead of quitting my full time job and applying for ESA straight away, I pushed myself to work part time, and doing so means I can never get ESA as I didn’t pay NI and I can’t use the NI credits from “credits only ESA” to get the money from ESA.
So I live on PIP alone, so it that was taken from me, I would have no income at all and would be unable to pay for bills or food!
Credits only ESA is NI credits only, which go towards my pension. No money, just NI credits!
So PIP is super important to me and people like me.
