PIP changes are outrageous and stigmatising
21st March 2017
Blog by Craig Smith, SAMH Public Affairs Officer
While the news may be focused on Brexit and the possibility of Indyref2, the UK government is pressing ahead with unnecessary and unfair changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) supports people with the additional costs of disability. In November 2016 the Upper Tribunal ruled that people who find it hard to leave the house because of anxiety, panic attacks, and other mental health problems should be able to receive the higher rate of PIP. The UK responded by legislating to stop these changes taking place.
The UK Government’s decision is stigmatising and undermines their commitment to parity of esteem for mental and physical health. The new rules, which came into force on 16 March, will stop at least 160,000 disabled people across the UK getting the financial support they deserve.
SAMH and our partners across the mental health and disability sector are outraged. With 30 other disability organisations we signed up to a letter from the Disability Benefits Consortium condemning the UK Government’s changes.
An excerpt of the letter states:
‘The decision to amend PIP following Upper Tribunal judgements means that disabled people face losing £3.7 billion by 2022 […] this undermines the principle of the PIP assessment and its ability to fairly provide financial support, regardless of condition.’
It continues, 'we are also worried that the full scale and impact of these changes will not be understood before they come into effect. The impact analysis acknowledges a ‘significant risk that the numbers affected could be much higher’ than currently estimated.'
Indeed the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC), which advises the government on welfare, urged the Government to delay introducing the changes and consult further with health care professionals and others. We are deeply disappointed the UK government did not listen.
Even before these changes we knew that there were serious problems with PIP for people with mental health problems. Our 2016 report Personal independence Payment – What’s the Problem? outlines what we were told by SAMH service users who had applied for PIP and suggests positive changes.
One person said: ‘I got told that my conditions don’t impact on my life. I go to bed at night crying, praying that I don’t wake up. I’ve lost my house, and this has no impact on my life?’
Despite this week’s setback we will continue to campaign for a social security system which respects and supports people affected by mental health and other disabilities.
Responsibility for non-income related disability benefits, including PIP, are being devolved to Scotland. This provides an opportunity to do things differently.
To help shape the new system the Scottish Government are asking people who have experience of the current benefits system to join their ‘Experience Panels.’ This is a great chance to get involved and help shape a social security system that is fair and supportive. For more information, and to apply to join the panel please visit the Scottish Government social security website. Recruitment to the panels runs until May 12.
