Has anyone any idea if the new PIP will affect people with lung diseases because as far as i can make out the govt wont be considering lung diseases as a Disability (i may be wrong in what im making of this) or at least it will be further down in the pecking order as it were.I for one class it as a disability as i suffer (as we all do) every single day,24 hours a day with breathing difficulties and i know how disabling this disease can be.I can be sitting one minute and the next minute im struggling to breathe and i havent moved so if anyone has any advice it will be appreciated
Stuart
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stuwer231267
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Personally when PIP takes over from the DLA I am not expecting much change in my allowance mainly because I have this attitude that all those legit like myself will be seen for what they are and all the artful dogers will be sussed."Perfect world eh" :-)))))
Good answer count lol.what i mean is the govt are talking about making people with respitory problems suddenly undisabled if they change the criteria for PIP.there will be alot of people found out but i mean the genuine disabled like ourselves.just need to wait and see what comes out of it
I am not going to worry about it either, I think the PIP is going to be like the new ESA more about what you can do not your illness. I worried myself silly of the new ESA and sailed through the testing. And if things don't go well, well I worry about it then. My best advice is not to worry too much about all the different stuff posted all over the internet about it unless posted by the likes of BLF etc, too much scare mongering going on over these benefit changes causing people worry.
You are right Daxie, lots of false info around and who knows? Things may just go smoothly (and pigs might fly).
PIP like DLA is for a persons mobility or care needs and neither favours or disfavours any medical condition, if you meet the requirements as a new claiment or tranfering from DLA then you will qualify. there is no lower care for PIP so people will lose out, unless they qualify for the standard allowance, PIP is based on a points system.
Remember the old tales about how to define a witch?1) burn her at the stake, if she survives she's a witch and 2) the ducking stool, if she does not drown then she's a witch.
One rumour I heard was that they would stop all benefits for a year, anyone who survived was therefore on the fiddle if they had some other means of income for support and would not be granted benefits, and it would be too late to apologise to the rest.
I really hope that nobody from the DWP reads this and puts it forward to the minister !
I agree with rayfindlow it is not about the condition but how it affects your care needs and mobility. What I think is unhelpful is if we go on about 'them and us' 'the deserving sick and the undeserving sick'. I think to trot out negative stuff like this we are falling into the 'daily mail' trap and it does us no favours. Please remember by the DWP's own figures the fraud rate is 0.5% the least of any benefit.
Not sure if ATOS has the contract for DLA/PIP, if so, if it is anything like many peeps have experienced and the Panarama and Dispatches documentary showed, then I think the sick and disabled have every reason to be concerned.
PIP will be based on a points system just like the ESA system. The BLF was involved in the public consultation on PIP, as a charity we did make contributions to this process detailing the physical and emotional problems people with lung conditions can experience on a day to day basis. We included the difficulties with mobilty and care needs - the extreme difficulty people can experience when washing and getting dressed etc. Ultimately it is how the condition affects you rather than the condition you have. A person with mild COPD may not have any particular difficulties or problems whereas a person with moderate/COPD would probably have amny difficulties.
The final questions are not (as far as we know) set in stone yet. The following information is from Disability Rights UK and has a list of questions:
Set in stone is how many will not get any support the treasury have set a budget that cuts the numbers that will get support from the new benefit. The record of the company doing the tests tells you all you want to know about how fair it will be.
Yes the aim is to save 20%, so if you take away the 0.5% in fraudulent claims it is going to unfairly affect many genuine claiments. Totally agree traindriver with ATOS' record so far. They are obviously saving the Government money or they wouldn't have got the contract. X
Many of us should be and are concerned about the future with the new plans for PIP,as some people have indicated the government have set the figures they want to save in stone,they are in effect raising the criteria of when people can get help with their disability ,the fact that they are using ATOS can hardly give us any confidence.
Even worse an interview with Andy Burnham MP the shadow health minister offers no hope for the future the labour government started these changes,used ATOS ,and according to him things will carry on the same ,even if labour were to win the next general election.
It makes my blood boil that government have actually got many people have actually swallowed the lie that these changes are being implemented to help disabled people get back to work,the real reason is to save the government money so they can give tax breaks to the very wealthy.
..these changes are being implemented to help disabled people get back to work...
That's what they are pushing, but what work is available for someone who struggles to walk 50 yards and can only just lift a carton of milk, both deemed to be suitable assessment in determining who is fit for work?
ATOS and the decision makers are given guidelines, they choose to implement them as definitive limits. It's not even worth taking the low level of fraud into account, the decision to cut back on the number of claimants who qualify for the new benefit has already been made and we've already seen examples of how ATOS use the 'guidelines' to simply dismiss claims when it is clear that the person concerned is disabled and cannot work.
There is going to be a big gap in the benefits system where people don't qualify for PIP or ESA yet are too ill to go sign on for JSA - so what are they supposed to do?
Unfortunately the picture the media portrays of the minority who are working on the side and skiing etc. are making many of the well and able bodied resentful as the implication is that fraud is rife, so I think it important the true low level is known, and the fact it doesn't tally with what they want to save. Many people rely on DLA to enable them to get to work. It is not a benefit, but an allowance in recognition of the fact it costs much more to live with chronic illness and disablement.
I agree with you Timber it is so sad to think the Labour party were the ones who employed ATOS originally. I wrote to my MP a while ago asking what the labour party policy was on DLA/PIP as I hadn't heard anything from them in the media. Also said I thought it confusing that both Ed Milliband and Ed Balls thought the cuts were too hard and too fast, but both were reluctant to say they would overturn them if they were in power. Standard reply, although to be fair he thought I had a point about the 2 Ed's comments, but it depends on the situation then blah de blah. X
Please do not hold your breath and expect an incoming labour party to reverse some coalition policies.
There is no example of them doing so in the past,look at Thatchers anti trade union policies in the 80's none of those policies were reversed.
I have just heard Milliband say he would reverse policies in the NHS,I can just hear the excuses along the lines of "it will cost far to much to reverse these policies"
It should be stated however the labour party increased funding to the NHS whilst they were in power,and despites Camerons pledges before the last election the coalition have cut spending by 20 billion pounds and there are more cuts to come.
Keep puffing.
Woody.
Turn out last election was around 30% that leaves 70% who do not vote for any of them as they are all the same looking after themselves (expenses scandal) not the people that put them there, just what you expect from a lot of millionaires that do not want to know about sick people or how they try to survive.
Well I've just read the link that Jo kindly provided to the prospective guidelines to the new PIP and if this is the yardstick that the DWP is going to deploy then a lot of us are going to be getting a little brown envelope, inside which will say, "please return you mobility car in the morning"'.
It really is going to be distressing, not forgetting a financial catastrophe.
Previous criteria for getting theHigher Rate mobility allowance was by satisfying the DWP that "because of physical disability, you are unable or virtual unable to walk without severe discomfort" ........ The normal distance was latterly set at 100 yards.
As most of you know, it was a thankless task, even with letters from the finest consultants in the land, to get assessors to actually believe you.
It took me the best part of two years to get my award after appeals, fresh appeals and finally an appearance face to face with an Independent Panel eight months ago in Cardiff.
Now it seems that a proven inability to walk without severe discomfort or distress will no longer be deemed as needing financial assistance.
One must also meet one other criteria, one being that you are wheelchair bound or else suffer from " overwhelmingly psychological distress".
I must also add that my lower rate of care because I cannot cook simple meals for myself.
That's about £70 a week loss to me and I'm not sure how I can compensate for this.
Ironically, anyone 65 or over next April will be exempt, I miss the cut off date by 6 weeks!
Get yourselves ready for the poorhouse my friends, it's only about 6 months away.
Final when is a disabled person not a disabled person?
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