‘I’ve got MS and depend on PIP – I fear Government benefit reforms’
A woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) has spoken of her fears that Government reforms to disability benefits could see claimants lose their Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
Michelle Pointer, 49, from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, has been using a wheelchair since 2019.
She has been receiving PIP since 2018, which she claims alongside employment and support allowance (ESA).
PIP are payments from the Government that help people with disabilities or long-term health conditions cover extra living costs.
Reforms to the benefits system will be unveiled by ministers in the spring as the Government tries to tackle the soaring welfare bill.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already announced that she will make savings the previous Conservative government put forward involving reforms of the work capability assessment (WCA).
But Ms Pointer is concerned that more changes would make an already difficult process more complicated and risk people being stripped of their benefits.
She told The i Paper that at her first PIP assessment, the assessor said she walked normally with good balance, which she hadn’t been able to do for at least a year.
“He said that I could walk up the stairs with one rail, even though I had shown him my stairlift because I couldn’t safely walk on the stairs,” she told The i Paper.
“My application was denied, causing shock and confusion to my doctors. If the Government plans will make the process more complicated, I can’t see it being of any use.”
She was later approved but welcomed a review of the disability benefits system, which she believes has been “a long time coming”.
But she has concerns that the reforms could see current PIP claimants lose the benefit.
The Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will unveil Labour’s proposals in the spring.
Downing Street has insisted that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to cutting the welfare bill, leading to questions over which areas could be affected.
However, the Treasury is understood to be pushing for major changes to sickness and disability benefits, including PIP.
The benefits reforms are expected to include a review of the eligibility criteria for PIP to reduce the pool of people entitled to the benefit.
Ms Pointer said: “I am a full-time wheelchair user; if the reports are accurate it would not affect me.
“However, I have friends that would probably be affected – one in particular is awarded PIP for mental health reasons. I fear for her.”
Around 2.6 million people of working age claim PIP and disability living allowance, with 33,000 new awards for PIP each month.
The cost to the taxpayer is set to hit £28bn a year by 2028/29, a 110 per cent rise in spending since 2019.
But PIP payments, which help with extra living costs, are seen as a lifeline for many disabled people.
Ms Pointer has been out of work for eight years after being medically retired against her wishes from her job as a teaching assistant.
“I know that I am capable of working and I do want to work – but employers can’t see past the wheelchair. I would welcome some help to get into work,” she said.
But she said attempts by the Government to get people into work in recent have resulted in punishments for people unable to find employment, often by denying payment due.
“This doesn’t help anyone get into work. And divides us into ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’,” Ms Pointer added.
“The rhetoric of us being fakers and scroungers needs to be stopped.
“We can’t even begin to attempt to gain equality whilst the media are allowed to ‘other’ us.”
Government sources have pushed back against suggestions that PIP, which is not based on income or employment status, could become means tested.
Tiered payments for disability benefits, modelled on a programme in Norway, which would be applied to people depending on their individual condition and specific needs, are believed to be one option under consideration.
Other possible changes include amending the eligibility criteria for PIP to make it more targeted, and making allowances for people with long-term conditions.
Another possibility is a switch to vouchers or one-off payments to pay for certain equipment or services in people’s homes.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson: “Millions of people rely on our welfare system every year and it is vital that it can be accessed by all who need it.
“That’s why we will work closely with disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to reform the current system so that it provides the support they need and genuinely helps people back into work.”
