This week, we have once again been featured in Bolton News for their article regarding PIP assessments. In the article, Dina Volovik documents how campaigners have called on the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to stop repeating Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments for disabled people. 

In the article, Dina writes how a 44-year-old male from Wigan has been petitioning to end these repeated assessments after he says a close family member was denied the benefit in one after having received PIP for years. His petition has gained significant traction and has more than 10,000 signatures, meaning it will be brought up in Parliament.

As very experienced experts in welfare benefits, we are often asked for comment on such matters. When asked about the toll that PIP assessments can take on people’s mental health, Michelle commented that ‘[Proving your entitlement over the years is] a never-ending loop. A lot of our clients have struggled with it mentally and physically.

The article goes on to take accounts from those who have experienced PIP assessments in the past, many of whom are past clients of Fightback.

This is a great read for anyone who is interested in the PIP assessment process. If you wish to read the article in full, visit here – https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/24952206.campaigners-slam-dehumanising-repeat-pip-assessments/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIr6GdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHehNHZKze7dLOjTVo_6VraT6yCGXZHEjSTPHEJ7Ir3rBTBVQ7EnQoK_QkQ_aem_gtNQEXzizCFSr7XS0SCZyw

The contents of the article can be read below.

Campaigners have called on the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to stop repeating Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments for disabled people – saying they are ‘dehumanising’.

PIP is a benefit for people aged 16 and over whose mental or physical ill health makes daily tasks or mobility difficult.

It can be awarded for a fixed period such as one to ten years – meaning people have to again prove they’re eligible for it after that time is up in a PIP review.

Campaigners say this means 20-plus page forms, pages of medical evidence and a possible ‘reassessment’ with an ‘independent medical professional’ on the phone or face-to-face.

Gary Robinson, 44, of Wigan, has petitioned to end these repeated assessments after he says a close family member was denied the benefit in one after having received PIP for years.

Now, more than 10,000 people have signed his petition, meaning it will be brought up in Parliament.

He said: “PIP reassessments mean disabled people have to answer the same questions over and over again, every few years.

“They’re almost designed to catch people out. It’s traumatic for people who already have enough difficulty in their lives.”

The petition has called for the end of “interrogation-like interviews” with PIP assessors and the legal battles that follow if a person loses their benefit.

Michelle Cardno, founder of Tottington disability community organisation Fightback4Justice, has helped many people keep their PIP benefits in reassessments and in court.

She has seen the toll the process takes on their mental health.

She said: “[Proving your entitlement over the years is] a never-ending loop. A lot of our clients have struggled with it mentally and physically.”

Many of Michelle’s clients are said to have found proving their entitlement an ordeal.

Julie, 59, of Somerset, has had severe ME/CFS, fibromyalgia and depression for 20 years – and says she is ‘95 per cent housebound

She said: “I am unable to walk without a stick and my mental health is so fragile, but I have to keep being reassessed every four years.

“Why? My conditions [won’t improve]. They’ll only get worse.

“The stress builds a year before the reassessment is due. It often leads to me self-harming or wanting to give up on life.

“My last assessment was awful. My husband told the assessor he was upstairs if I needed him.

“But she wrote that he was nowhere to be seen.

“She then asked me to turn a page and reported that I had no problem with my hands, even though they are bent with arthritis and extremely painful.” 

Michael, 56, of Chester, a military veteran, has also had ‘awful’ experiences with PIP reassessments.

His 13 years in the Royal Air Force for 13 years left him with a disintegrating spine caused by two bombings, PTSD, and a traumatic brain injury – among other conditions.

He said: “I’ve had three or four PIP assessments and am about to undergo another one.

“They have been absolutely awful. I have so many physical and mental health issues.”

Michael is wheelchair-bound, but all his reassessments have been face-to-face.

He said: “I can’t leave the house very often because of health problems.

“Assessors know from how difficult it was for me before but still insist on me going in person.

“When I arrive, they say, ‘You got here today so that means you [have enough mobility to] go places.’

“But I tell them a relative or carer brought me, and that I hadn’t been able to eat or drink anything before coming [because of IBS caused by pain medications I take].”

DWP has now told him he needs to be assessed again – almost a year before he thought he would need to.

This has caused ‘stress and hassle’.

He said: “I thought my benefits were to last until next January and that I had most of this year to get my documents together.

“But DWP sent a text message saying my PIP review and evidence needs to be sent in three weeks.

“I have five different doctors and specialists. The chance of me getting the evidence from them in time is nil.

“If DWP stop my benefits, I’ll face financial hardship.

“I live on my own and don’t have anyone that can help me with money.”

Paul, 65, of West Didsbury is also a military veteran. He served in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) for about a decade.

He has PTSD and physical injuries from a motorbike accident along with anxiety and depression.

He said: “I’ve been waiting to hear back about my reassessment results for over a year.

“I don’t go out anywhere, I worry constantly and dread everything day after day.

“I just lost my pension. It’s a nail-biting time.

“I think anybody over the age of 60 shouldn’t be put through this. Even now I’m still fighting to pay my bills, to get PIP, to get food on the table.

“I should be able to sit and relax and enjoy my twilight years. I’m 65 with lord knows what ailments and they’re not getting any better.

“They need to leave the old people alone. At the stroke of a pen, they can destroy your life.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “We have been clear the welfare system needs to be reformed which is why we will bring forward proposals for reforming the health and disability benefits system in the spring, and are working closely with disabled people, disability organisations, and people with health conditions so their views and voices are at the heart of our plans.

“People applying for Personal Independence Payment get a range of support to help them through the process, including details on how to prepare for their assessment ahead of time.