Sam Ashton of Zacchaeus 2000 — Justice for vulnerable debtors — reports:
The first independent review of the Personal Independence Payment
assessment process is underway and Z2K has submitted evidence based on
our experience supporting claimants. You can read our submission here.
PIP is the new benefit that began to replace Disability Living
Allowance (DLA) from April 2013. Like Employment and Support Allowance
claimants must undergo an assessment to see if they qualify, but that’s
not where the similarities end because in large parts of the country
these assessments are also carried out by the notorious ATOS Healthcare.
As if that wasn’t enough to set alarm bells ringing, the government has
made clear that they expect PIP expenditure to be 20% less than DLA,
leaving many concerned that eligible claimants may be denied the benefit
in order to meet savings targets.
The experience of our clients thus far has left us concerned that
many of the problems with the Work Capability Assessment that we
documented are being repeated with PIP. Just like ESA there are huge
delays in the process with many claimants waiting upwards of 6 months
for an assessment, meaning they experience severe impoverishment and in
some cases a worsening of their conditions....
Continue reading on Z2K website....
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