Irwin Mitchell's Public Law Team is getting behind disabled people in challenging The Secretary of State's change in eligibility criteria which affects hundreds of thousands of disabled people.
As many will know, in regard to physical disability, the new criteria is that if you can walk 20 meters once, with walking aids, (but can't do it again), then you do not qualify for the enhanced mobility component of PIP. This means what exactly? that it is fair? that you only have slightly limited mobility? that your new downgraded disability and downgraded rate of mobility support isn;t just tokenism? None are true.
I like Irwin Mitchell's ethos, and try to keep an eye on the news items on their homepage. They have previously challenged aspects of PIP at least once before; and its thanks to them that a High Court judge deemed that upto year long delays in PIP decisions were actually unlawful .
I (personally) don;t think that this particular Court of Appeal hearing will be successful, but i have to hand it to Irwin Mitchell for giving a voice to disabled people where opposition bench politicians have failed to do so.
Written by
EleanorS
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Absolutely Eleanor. I agree there are no serious attempts from Labour to stem this disgusting tide of discrimination by the Tory Nazis. And who knows what might result from this daring attempt by Irwin Mitchell to challenge this draconian & heartless move. They're certainly a well established and powerful organisation and must feel they have a good case.
I received a letter stating my DLA is to be changed over to PIP (though not due for review until2015). I am currently on the high rate for mobility and have a blue badge. I would find life a great deal difficult without my badge. Yes I can walk 20 metres, but on a bad day I cannot even move without help.
I understand PIP is a points system and have downloaded helpful website a forum member posted.
ESA is to be cut by15%.
Hoping Irwin Mitchell will continue and her support widen for these damn right outrageous cuts to above benefits. I am finding the whole episode very stressful, and I need to be assessed by independent doctor, who will have no idea about brain injury !
it is a points system, but advice is also given that you state very clearly that just because i can walk 20metres today doesnt mean i can do it tomorrow. i am not sure that if the advice given from one helpful organisation is always "put across the information of how you are on your worst days", but you would know this already.
i could be wrong but as i understand it ESA will be reduced, but only if the PIP assessment finds you capable for work.
try and keep your frame of mind in neutral as to how an assessment could go.
previously ive had someone from welfare rights come out and endorse the form ive filled in, i thought that this might add clout, i did get the top award for mobility then,
in my opinion benefitsandwork.co.uk has produced helpful guides for the assessment process, guidance on what your GP is told to ask you, on how to fill in the forms, and guidance for the assessment. pay a small subscription fee and then you can download the guides.
i know its quite a blase thing to say, but just where i am coming from i try not to let it get to me too much; i survived TBI thats the main thing.
i am meeting criteria for higher rate mobility, but i can see them not awarding it to me because i am meeting the criteria in really quite an unusual way that doesnt fit neatly into their boxes - but having said that its possible that a person with agoraphobia can get full rate mobility. i can see that this is not a fair system for people like yourself who are actually physically incapacitated at times.
if i think i have been unfairly awarded, i will simply go through the appeals process as a matter of course.
i havent had a lot of time to assemble everything that DWP is asking for because ive had a bigger looming deadlines and other stresses. sometimes i feel like im in a perfect storm that must subside soon. however i have got a handle on the stress, i dont mean to bring up the stress that people must experience by posting messages referencing DWP.
i try to factor in time in the day where i switch off from stresses, watch TV, watch a film, or sit in a garden somewhere.
Irwin Mitchell have contested PIP a number of times.
The court of appeal hearing was last week, judgement has been reserved as of yet.
Thank you for your advice. I do need to not become so stressed, what will be will be.
I am confused a little by what you said in your first post and second to me. The new criteria is if you cant walk more than20 yard, but can the next , you are not entitled to enhanced mobility. Is this correct? Thank you for your advice. I look at the website and very useful.
hope youve got the chance to do something that makes you feel a little bit less stressed, i'd apply this advice to myself also.
I am not 100% clear but the old criteria seemed to be if you couldnt walk 50 metres, then you were entitled to higher rate mobility.
the new criteria seems to be that if you can walk 20 metres, then you might not get the enhanced rate. BUT i am not 100% clear on that, i emphasise now, because to my mind surely they would look at the whole picture of your disabilities and look at things in the round and take into consideration whether you can only walk a distance of 20 metres on some days and not others. perhaps you could check with someone at the benefitsandwork.co.uk website.
I will never vote Labour again after not fully opposing the Welfare cuts this is the party who are supposed to be behind the poor and sick of this country there petrified of upsetting middle England. As for the Neo Nazi government if they had their way especially George Osborne ( who I would gladly smack in his arrogant privileged face) they would put the sick and disabled in concentration camps and I am not joking
I'd vote Labour again, if in regard to benefits they could be like the other parties in having a smokescreen facade of saying one thing, and when in power do the opposite. in regard to the poor and sick anything has to be better than allowing the far right to hold onto power even longer. i admit that george osbornes stupid face, the last thing i need to see, produces the same kind of reaction in me.
They probably would put them in concentration camps Jimbo or they might be even more crueler than that at put them on the streets.
I don't totally understand the DWP because they are a department who dish out money for those who need it to get by and yet they want to take that money away from us!It doesn't make any sense whatsoever to me.
If they want to be greedy, robbing b******s then don't invent/found a department that hands out money. Simple as that.
I know there are people who will cheat the system and get money when they don't even need it BUT there are people who really do need it.
I agree Matt. Like the Greek PM said that Greece was a austerity laboratory which is true next will be the likes of Spain Portugal or Ireland it's a agenda for the illuminati to enslave the whole population of earth. I read a lot of David icke,s books and people who think he is just are wrong everything he has predicted has or is in the process of coming true. I his book The Biggest Secret,I think he tells of they paedophile ring that goes right to the top and he names them George Bush Snr, Edward Heath, Lord Mountbatten and Jimmy Seville and not anybody took any legal action against him and the book was written about 1997. Makes you think
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