WE WON! Today at the High Court, the judge ruled that claimants who lost severe disability premium when they moved to a Universal Credit (UC) area, were unlawfully discriminated against. He further commented that the government recognised the need of this group (the DWP barrister had suggested the disabled men could get social care from the Council, instead of the benefit*!) but failed to deal with it. Read the Leigh Day legal team press release here: https://www.leighday.co.uk/…/First-legal-challenge-against-… The DWP tried to spin the story to make out the men didn’t win, but in court the … Read more
This Thursday 14 June, at the High Court, Strand, London WC2A 2LL 9.30am: Support disabled claimants at the Joint vigil: Disabled People Against Cuts, Single Mothers’ Self-Defence, WinVisible, Rev Paul Nicolson (Taxpayers Against Poverty), Maggie Zolobajluk, and others. 10am: In court – the judge will announce his ruling. Check court number here. On Thursday 14 June, the judge will announce his ruling in the case brought by Mr P, a terminally-ill man who lives alone, and other disabled claimants previously on ESA who lost around £180 a month. They were brutally denied severe disability … Read more
Claimants in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, including one with epilepsy, have won a PIP tribunal legal case against being scored too few points for “managing therapy or monitoring a health condition”. Benefits minister Esther McVey had to concede the DWP is in the wrong and will again have to review PIP claims where people have been wrongly denied, as with the mental distress mobility discrimination. It’s another case where the government made changes without consultation — one reason why the judge in the PIP mobility legal challenge quashed regulations which limited how many points people with … Read more
Info about the rules for getting a Freedom Pass, and how to apply, is here. Disabled asylum seekers and other immigrant disabled people ARE entitled to the Freedom Pass. When they talk about resident, this means living in the borough. You do not have to have won your right to stay in the UK to get the Freedom Pass. More info here.
Background to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) PIP was brought in under the Welfare Reform Act 2012. The purpose was to cut Disability Living Allowance (DLA) spending by 20%. For this reason, the then Chancellor George Osborne was booed at the 2012 Paralympics. With PIP, they abolished low rate care component which a lot of people with moderate disabilities relied on, and made the benefit test harsher. The DWP doesn’t automatically transfer people from DLA, but makes people apply as a new PIP claim. According to DWP statistics, so far nearly half of DLA to PIP … Read more
Check you are getting all your benefit entitlements and transport concessions: www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/ Transport for All (London)
DLA stays the same for children under 16 and for pensioners who were aged 65 before 8 April 2013. Note: The Scottish Government has announced that teenagers on DLA can stay on until age 18. This is one of the benefit improvements they have made under their devolved powers. See here Can my child get DLA? Care needs Your child has care needs if they need help with ‘bodily functions’, for example, eating, washing, getting dressed and going to the toilet. These care needs can also include help which allows your child to take part in social activities. … Read more
Getting Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) depends on the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and a points system. The massive UK-wide campaign against the WCA and Atos (the multinational company which used to carry out the WCA) and successful legal challenge against the WCA has had a huge impact. The British Medical Association, representing doctors, and many MPs, voted to scrap the WCA and Atos, and also opposed Maximus taking over from Atos. As of 2014, 73% of people whose claim has been decided get ESA. Most claimants who survive the assessment phase are now put in the Support Group, which … Read more
In the programme, which also features the protests, disabled mums speak about their experiences of claiming Universal Credit. Lorna Dunleavy was made suicidal by the in-built delays and underpayment. Tracey lost her ESA severe disability premium after trying waged work for a time. She was told to make a fresh claim for Universal Credit, despite being advised that she would not lose out if she could not continue waged work. (There are special rules where people going back onto ESA are supposed to have a “linked claim” that goes back to their previous claim.) A … Read more