The Office for Budget Responsibility has recently reported that spending on PIP, the Tory’s new extra-costs disability, was 20% higher than was expected if the previous benefit had been retained, instead of 20% lower as was the government’s desire. The OBR had a number of reasons for this. One was the lack of data to support the government’s stated desire that PIP would reduce spending by 20%. The biggest reason is probably simply that there is a much higher volume of claims

I had a PIP appeal today. I’ve been waiting for it for ten months. I don’t think it went well. There are some points in my favour: the panel repeatedly referred to the fact that I have learnt to manage my condition through careful planning and pacing, and that I can’t manage more than I currently do when queried on how I could manage to sit in the tribunal room, I said that it was only with exacerbation of symptoms: nausea, flu-like symptoms, poor temperature control, brain s

One of the DWP’s major concerns is that people assessed as unfit for work then wrongly believe that they are unfit for work, because that is what they have been told. If only the assessments told us we were fit for work, we’d go out to work and get better. Presumably it’s the same with PIP assessments. I don’t struggle to walk or to take care of myself due to illness; I struggle with these because a First-Tier Tribunal told me I did. Obviously, if only a PIP assessor would te

I got a brown envelope today, except it was white. The ‘Personal Independence Payment’ just showing in the address window gave the game away. I’ve been expecting a brown envelope since 24th October, when I was told my PIP was being reassessed (51 weeks after being given a two year award). I got two brown envelopes before Christmas, one announcing the £10 I get because I’m disabled and it’s Christmas, and the other announcing… the £10 I get because I’m disabled and it’s Christ

The government still doesn’t know what its talking about. But this time it’s almost seven years on from when it gained power, and its politicians no longer have the right to plead ignorance. They do not have the right to remain ignorant on matters of great importance over which they hold the power. A spokesperson for the government said that mental illness is not a disability. Leaving aside his personal knowledge of mental illness – which appears to be restricted to non-disab

On Thursday the government released its response to the consultation on Personal Independence Payments (PIP), the successor to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) that is to be brought in from April 2013.  Amongst the surprises were the government’s limitation of higher rate (‘enhanced’) mobility to people who cannot move more than 20m – a shock to the disabled community, who had loudly expressed their concern that a cut-off of 50m was too small, let alone 20. There were some i

When it’s their word against yours, medical evidence is what proves you’re not the one lying. Medical evidence is what says that you are in pain, or you are blind, or you are mentally ill. It’s what confirms that you aren’t making things up or exaggerating. It’s what tells the decision maker to believe your evidence over what the Atos assessor said, or simply to believe your evidence at all. It’s the medical evidence to counter the medical opinion of the Atos assessor. It’s t

A new disability benefit should reflect the policy intent that the important factor is not the medical condition but the effect that it has on people’s care and mobility needs. The best that an examining medical practitioner can do is to take a snapshot of the person’s condition on the day on which he sees that disabled person. Many conditions relapse or progress at different times. One exam on one day cannot accurately capture the long-term disability. It is much better to r

On Monday the government started the roll-out of its new disability benefit, Personal Independence Payments. According to the government, PIP “better reflects today’s understanding of disability.” As a disabled person and researcher, my first response was to think that ‘DWP’ would have been a better fit than the word ‘today’ in that sentence. PIP is widely viewed as based heavily on the ‘medical’ model of disability, whilst people with understanding of disability today would