By John Pring in Disability News Service. The government’s continuing failure to allow benefit appeals to be heard via video conferencing is discriminating against disabled claimants, say welfare rights experts. Many disabled people are being forced to ask for their tribunals to be postponed, because they are only being offered a telephone hearing, […]
Disability Benefits
Benefit Assessment Companies ‘Have Made Almost No Progress’ On Safeguarding
By John Pring in Disability News Service. The three companies that carry out disability benefit assessments for the government have made almost no progress in the last year on alerting local authorities to concerns about claimants whose safety is at risk, according to a disabled campaigner. Last year, freedom of information responses from […]
Changes Promised To Cut Stress Of PIP Assessments
By Lauren Harte in the Belfast Telegraph. Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has vowed to improve the process for those applying for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) following a call to make the troubled system “fair and accessible for those who genuinely need it”. When PIP was introduced in Northern Ireland in 2016, replacing Disability […]
DWP Officials Accused Of ‘Tampering’ With Thousands Of Benefit Assessments
From Welare Weekly. Benefit officials working for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have altered or binned thousands of work capability assessment reports submitted by healthcare professionals, it has been claimed. DWP officials reduced qualifying points awarded during face-to-face assessments and in some cases binned the reports entirely, according to media reports. […]
Support For ‘Amazing’ Campaigner Whose Vital Legal Case Could Help Thousands
By John Pring in Disability News. Disabled campaigners travelled from across the country this week to show support for a fellow activist as she took on justice ministers in the high court over the ruinous costs disabled people can face when they take disability discrimination cases. If she wins, Esther Leighton could give hope to thousands […]
Judge’s PIP Comments Suggest Thousands Have Had Claims Wrongly Stopped
By John Pring in Disability News Service. Thousands of disabled people could have had their benefit claims stopped unlawfully, campaigners believe, after a judge found that letters sent out by government contractors were failing to stress the serious consequences of failing to attend a face-to-face assessment. Upper tribunal judge Nicholas Wikeley said he […]
After I Revealed Whitehall Plans To Deceive The Public On Universal Credit, An Investigation Began. Its Conclusions Are Shocking
By Aditya Chakrabortty in The Guardian. Early this summer, a national newspaper published a string of curious articles. Under the logo Universal Credit Uncovered, the features promised readers of the Metro the truth about this most notorious of all benefits. The series began with a giant advert wrapped around the cover of the paper, coupled […]
Boost Your Retirement Income
From Independent Age. Many older people are missing out on thousands of pounds that they’re due. Our free guides can help you boost your income by claiming benefits you may not have realised you’re entitled to – even if you have savings or own your own home. To read the rest of this story, click […]
Disabled People Already Fight Battles Every Day. Making Us Prove We Need Benefits Is Almost Inhumane
My Label And Me: I Am Not A ‘Scrounger’ Because I Claim Benefits
DWP: 80 Charities File Watchdog Complaint Over ‘Misleading’ Universal Credit Adverts
By Dan Bloom in The Mirror. The Disability Benefits Consortium claims the adverts are “deliberately misleading” and contain “obvious exaggerations”. Charities have reported the government to the advertising watchdog over “deliberately misleading” promotions for Universal Credit. The Disability Benefits Consortium, a coalition of more than 80 disability charities, lodged a formal complaint to the Advertising […]
Coming Soon: The Great Universal Credit Deception
Universal Credit Claimants Are Being ‘Trapped In A Downward Spiral Of Debt And Hardship’
By Nicola Slawson in Huffington Post. Universal Credit claimants are left “swimming against a tide of unmanageable repayments” when they are forced to take loans ahead of their first payments, it has been claimed. The comments come as the government has responded to a damning report by the Work and Pensions select committee, which […]
Universal Credit Is An Unmitigated Catastrophe For Ill And Disabled People
Written by Kitty S Jones in Politics and Insights. I co-run an online advice and support group for people going through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims, assessments, mandatory reviews and appeals. Recently there has been a spike in people being reassessed for their awards of both kinds of […]
Rudd Has Not Delayed Roll Out Of Universal Credit, DWP Confirms
By John Pring in Disability News Service. The roll out of the government’s much-criticised universal credit benefit system has not been delayed and will proceed as planned, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed. Reports at the weekend suggested that new work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd had decided on a […]
Officials Fail To Collect Data On People Wanting To Apply Offline For Online-Only Universal Credit
By Simon Rushton in iNews. Officials behind Universal Credit are being criticised for failing to track data on people who want to apply offline. Universal Credit is the government’s first digital-only service, and claimants must apply online for the Department of Work and Pensions benefit. But there worries that the system is excluding […]
UN Day Of Disabled People: Government Could Face Court Over Universal Credit
By John Pring in Disability News Service. The government could be forced into court to defend its failure to make the much-criticised universal credit benefit system accessible to disabled people. A parliamentary meeting held to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on Monday – and to call for universal credit […]
9 Tips To Guide You Through A PIP Benefit Application
By Jo Moss in A Journey Through The Fog. We all know the anxiety inducing feeling of the dreaded brown envelope falling on your door mat. Being assessed, or reassessed for health and disability benefits, is both exhausting and scary. We are often made to feel we are faking it or exaggerating our symptoms. […]
Universal Credit Roll-Out Delayed – Again
By Katie Campbell in UNITE. Leaked documents seen by the BBC have shown that the government will once again delay the rollout of Universal Credit, with Esther McVey saying that a “small amount of people – maybe 10,000” will be moved onto the system in 2019. Despite the government’s plans to have Universal Credit fully up-and-running […]
Esther McVey: Disabled People Will Get “Significantly More” On Universal Credit
by Katie Campbell in UNITE. Esther McVey has told the BBC that one million disabled people will get “significantly more on Universal Credit,” despite previous evidence showing that disabled people face losing out on up to £4,000 every year under the new system. Speaking to the BBC yesterday, McVey admitted that the Tories have made some “tough […]
Tory Conference: Charity’s Silence On Universal Credit Deaths, Hours After Minister Announces £51m Funding
By John Pring in Disability News Service. A charity has refused to criticise the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over four deaths linked to universal credit, hours after a minister announced it would receive tens of millions of pounds to support claimants on the new benefit system. Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey […]
Know Your Disability Rights
Benefits Calculator
From Age UK. What is the benefits calculator? Our personalised benefits calculator can tell you if you’re potentially entitled to claim extra money, based on the information you provide – such as whether you’re single/in a couple, where you live or if you care for anyone. It’s easy to use, quick, free and all […]