An online petition is calling on the UK Government to remove the ‘degrading’ assessment process for people claiming disability benefits including Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Instead, it is urging the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to consider basing award decisions on evidence solely from medical professionals.
Once someone has applied for PIP and the DWP decision maker has reviewed the submitted evidence form - completed by the applicant - and reviewed any accompanying evidence, they will then make a recommendation for a consultation. This could be in-person, over the phone or by video call.
In Scotland, new claims for PIP have been replaced by Adult Disability Payment which is taking a ‘people-centric’ approach to disability benefit application and will only involve an assessment if it would be beneficial to the claimant in order for the assessor to get a better understanding of how their condition affects them. These consultations will be conducted by Social Security Scotland staff and not a third-party.
The ‘End assessments and consider disability benefit claims on medical advice alone’ petition has been created by Ray Vanderahe and posted on the official petitions-parliament website where it has received more than 5,610 signatures of support (at time of writing).
He wrote: “We are concerned about how the disabled, with conditions such as inflammatory arthritis, heart disease, lung disease, respiratory diseases, poor mental health etc, are treated by the benefits system.
“Claimants with medical evidence of their condition should not be subject to degrading assessments.”
He added: “These delays in assessing claims risk deterring genuine claims. It has to stop.”
At present, a new claim for PIP is taking around 20 weeks to process from application submission to award decision letter being received.
At 10,000 signatures, the UK Government will respond to this petition - you can read it in full on the petitions-parliament website, here.
The DWP is currently reviewing how it manages the assessment process for vulnerable claimants.
The Health and Disability Green Paper explores how the welfare system can better meet the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that enables people to live independently and move into work where possible.
The consultation has enabled disabled people and their representatives to have their voices heard on the approaches the DWP should consider to improve the benefits system.
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