Just hours old .. and in effect fresh off the press :
dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/ministe...
Esther McVey on the Personal Independence Payment
There is no doubt that the Gov't and the DWP have not quite got their heads around how RA, and other chronic,fluctuating conditions, affect people .
The Devil will be in the soon to be published detail.
Rich 
I have read the attachment and am not sure what you are getting at. It refers about conditions that fluctuate which RA does, and states that it will be the same as DLA, therefore you should still receive your money. Which is the way that I have read it.
So why the scare mongering?
Hmmm ,
well i am glad your experience is better than most, and can obviously get by without financial assistance , and the passporting to services that goes with this.
I myself am not affected at present ... but will be in a number of years as will probably several other friends and family .
It is far from scaremongering when the fact of the matter is that a huge number of people will be removed from assistance that they have in effect paid for . Even the DWP admit that an estimated 510,000 currently disabled people will be worse off under PIP.
The disability Benefits consortium , which includes the NRAS , THE MS Society and Disability Alliance have been trying to put a stop to this attack on Disabled people and visit any of their sites to view their responses.
I should also add that as a CAB adviser , i see people every day who will be struggling to survive with the cuts , and will be having their independence removed from them.
With cuts to Legal aid , and financial costs to take employers to an Employment Tribunal about to come into force next year it will be very hard to bring a disability discrimination case, as the projected cost is rumoured to be around the £1000 mark.
Good luck to you, if you are unaffected , but please read beyond the spin and see what disability organisations have to say on the matter.
Kind Regards and i sincerely hope these changes do not affect you or anyone you know.
Rich
Actually they do affect someone I know, me, it's one of the reasons that I won't claim and only exist on my husbands pension and my works pension, I don't get the state one yet. Everyone says I should but I don't feel that I am bad enough to claim, but I could not continue with work.
Both my younger sister and sister-in-law are both in the same boat with claiming these benefits, and I see what it's doing to them, which is another reason I won't claim.
Sorry to hear of that Goerje ,
It is very difficult to accept help, i know , but let someone else make the decision for you by perhaps visiting a CAB or Law Centre, and they should be able to assist you with claiming anything you are eligible for .
It sounds like you and your husband have worked a major part of your life so don't feel like you are getting something you shouldn't .
It is a rigmarole trying to claim benefits and you do have to satisfy strict criteria , and this will be even more so in the future, so a quick visit or chat to someone at an advice centre may be of assistance.
With regard to Dla have a quick look here and see if you fit any of the criteria :
disabilityrightsuk.org/f23.htm
It si not just the financial help , as a successful DLA claim can passport to other help.
All the best
Rich
Rich I agree with you that we need to read between the lines of statements like these. I'm lucky as I'm reasonably well off but I have friends who are living in fear and privation. One has been on benefits for a very long time and has no support from her well heeled family. Partly because she has mental health problems. The way I see it is that this isn't about what we as individuals do or dont claim but what is happening to other people. We discovered a homeless couple living in the basement of the tenement next door. Alarming, yes, but also a moral dilemma. I don't want a society where we're all out for ourselves and ignoring those in need. I'll certainly be watching out with you.
Thankyou RichC for putting this information on, i have read the attachment and can breathe again for a while as i have an indefinate claim therefore according to the informtion i will not be assessed until at least 2015. I am a single mum with RA for 18 years and 45 years old, i suffer quite badly but have still remained in part time work but only with the help of DLA, i would not be able to afford a car if i did not recieve this benefit and this is what i need to help me get to work, shopping and hospital appts, i cannot manage to walk to bus stops or ride on buses so the fact that i can exchange this benefit for a car has really kept me from becoming housebound. RA is hard enough to cope with without being threatened constantly with financial worries, i have worked all my life and paid my tax/ni, my life would change so dramatically for the worse if i lost this benefit. Thank you again for this information.
Punishment on PIP?
Update on PIP application 
Update on pip
Consultation on PIP
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