Benefit and Pip adjustments might be ‘life or demise’ | EUROtoday

Planned cuts to the profit system might be a matter of life or demise for some individuals, a claimant has stated.

The authorities plans to tighten the eligibility standards for the Personal Independent Payment (Pip)which is paid to about 3.6m individuals who have a long-term bodily or psychological well being situation.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set out her plans for the UK financial system throughout her Spring Statement on Wednesday.

A authorities spokesperson stated all Pip assessments had been performed “rigorously and professionally”.

Assessments for the day by day residing a part of Pip will probably be tightened, which the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates will have an effect on about 800,000 individuals.

Shannon Doulis’ life modified after she contracted Covid-19 4 years in the past, later growing continual fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia because of lengthy Covid.

The 28-year-old, who lives in Totton, Hampshire, will get £400 a month in Pip to pay for prices that she has incurred because of her sicknesses.

“That £400 a month doesn’t sound like much but it’s a lifeline for me. It means when I do have to go out, I can pay for a taxi,” she stated.

“We’re treated as if we’re guilty of fraud until we’re proven innocent by being allowed our benefits.

“You cannot simply say: we’re not going to pay you, we expect you have to be working, so [be] higher. It would not work like that,” she said.

“I might attempt [going back to work]. But I understand how it may finish. That is why I misplaced my final job – as a result of I wasn’t properly sufficient, I wasn’t dependable sufficient.

“I would have to work a day and then have two weeks to recover and then maybe work another day. No one is going to employ me on that basis.”

Sophie Brudenall, 24, from Slough, Berkshire, has the attention situation Pre-America and has been claiming Pip for her visible impairment and psychological well being causes since 2020.

The college pupil stated, through the “very difficult” assessments, it was as if the federal government was making an attempt “to catch you out”.

“For people with more severe disabilities who are deemed to be not as severe as the government deem they should be [for Pip]it could be life or death,” she says.

“They might not be able to pay for medication; they might not be able to pay for their accessible technology. Technology is not cheap if you’re disabled.”

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson stated: “We support millions of people through our welfare system every year and it is a priority people receive the benefits they are entitled to as quickly as possible.

“All Pip assessments are performed rigorously and professionally and are independently audited to make sure claimants are receiving the identical high-quality service.”