Shared from Disability News Service, with thanks DWP ignored coroner’s call to take action to save claimants from suicide By John Pring on 16th July 2020 The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rejected a coroner’s call to act to prevent benefit claimants taking their own lives, following the suicide of a young woman who had told her work coach that she intended to kill herself. Documents released this week under the Freedom of Information Act show that the DWP dismissed both the coroner’s plea to take action, and the findings of an inquest jury which … Read more
We’re sharing the 17 June update from our friends at Benefits and Work welfare rights site. Opinions are by Benefits and Work, we’ve added comments below. “MINISTER REFUSES TO CONFIRM FACE-TO-FACE ASSESSMENT BAN WILL CONTINUE” Mystery surrounds how long telephone assessments for PIP and ESA are to continue after a government minister refused to give an answer today, as the ban on face-to-face assessments expires. Face-to-face assessments were banned for a period of three months from 17 March to June 17 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began to grip. Instead they were replaced by paper … Read more
WinVisible has joined in signing an open letter to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling for Child Benefit to be increased to £50 per week per child. From Thrive Teeside (in the North East of England) the letter is supported by women’s and community groups, and prominent people. The letter also calls for the abolition of the two-child limit and total benefit cap which deprive children of benefits, as well as no five-week wait for Universal Credit. Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP Chancellor of the Exchequer Her Majesty’s Treasury 1 Horse Guard’s Road London SW1A 2HQ … Read more
Good news of two legal challenges being prepared, to tackle: the refusal of critical care medical treatment to disabled people the struggle to get basic food supplied by supermarkets Access to critical care NHS treatment The NHS COVID-19 “decision support tool“, a chart used to refuse critical care to older and disabled people, has alarmed people, some who didn’t already know that treatment is rationed and withheld. Relatives of older people in care homes are shocked to realise that if their loved one is taken ill, an ambulance would not be called to take them … Read more
People may know already that disability benefit reassessments and reviews are on now hold because of coronavirus precautions. So if your disability benefit was due to end or be reviewed, it will continue to be paid for the next three months or longer. As far as we understand from official information, people making completely new claims will be assessed by paper evidence if it has already been sent in, and may be contacted by phone about their claim and asked questions over the phone by the assessor. You can message us on the blog about … Read more
Shared from the Guardian Benefits assessment suspension does not go far enough, says charity Efforts to fight coronavirus not sufficient to protect vulnerable, according to Mind Patrick Butler Social policy editor Mon 16 Mar 2020 ‘The mental health charity Mind has said the government’s suspension of face-to-face benefit assessments as part of efforts to fight coronavirus does not go far enough in protecting vulnerable people. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on Monday put on hold in-person assessments for disability benefit claimants as a precautionary measure against unnecessary exposure to infection. Normally, new claimants, along … Read more
WinVisible is delighted that disabled young people in Scotland will be able to stay on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) up to the age of 18, and not be forced to make a new Personal Independence Payment claim at 16. The Scottish Government is using its devolved powers to bring in this change from 1 April 2020. At the moment, teenagers on DLA are having their DLA stopped and are going through the stressful application process, outsourced to Atos and Capita. There is no guarantee of a PIP award or at the same level as before. … Read more
The government cruelly appeals against every court win which upholds our benefit rights and protects vulnerable claimants. But the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has refused the DWP permission to appeal against the mum fleeing domestic violence and her son, who finally won against the bedroom tax at the ECHR in October 2019 — after a battle lasting six years. In 2016, we criticised the majority UK Supreme Court judges, who among other cases, ruled that the mum and her son living in fear of violence from her ex-partner at … Read more
Shared from Disability News Service: By John Pring on 27th February 2020 A disabled woman’s tribunal victory has given hope to claimants who cannot take part in face-to-face benefit assessments for impairment, health, or trauma-related reasons, but then have their claims ended by the government for “failure to attend” their appointments. Jane* spent two years fighting for her benefits to be reinstated, with support from the grassroots group WinVisible** and the charity Child Poverty Action Group, before the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) conceded defeat at the upper tribunal. WinVisible said disabled people who cannot attend face-to-face assessments for … Read more