Benefits Cuts

 There’s a lot in the news about the proposed benefits changes and possible cuts. It’s a very worrying time for those who receive health related benefits PIP and ESA. And I include myself in this statement.

The views expressed here are my own personal opinions based upon my own experiences in applying for and receiving PIP and ESA.

There are 2 benefits available Personal Independence Payment - PIP.

And, Employment Support Allowance- ESA which is now included as part of Universal Credit - UC.

PIP is a payment for those with a disability, claimants are assessed and points awarded for how much help they require for living with their disability, and for how much their disability affects their mobility and getting around. The full mobility benefit will allow the claimant to trade their points for a motability car, specifically adapted if required.

A blue badge can be obtained if you have a certain number of mobility points.

PIP can be claimed by anyone with a disability no matter what their age and working status. Often it is PIP that enables people to remain in work, eg blue badge parking, adapted car or even a specific mobility aid/chair/scooter. Not all disabled people are sick. And many rely on the benefit to support them to live full and active lives.

Employment Support Allowance - ESA/UC is a benefit that can be claimed by anyone too sick to work, it’s important because it will provide money to live on when statutory sick pay expires, plus the government will pay the national insurance contributions that would have been paid by your employer had you been in work. This ensures that your state pension at retirement age is at the minimum. 

You can only claim ESA/UC if you are of working age.

When you are assessed to be eligible to receive ESA/UC you are deemed either still fit enough to find some suitable work. Or you are deemed too ill to work and are put into the support group category. You no longer require Drs assessments or sickness certificates in the support group category. The official terms are “have capability for work” and “have limited capability for work”.

ESA also differs depending upon whether it is income related or National Insurance Contributions related.

Applying for benefits is lengthy process for anyone and strict criteria are applied.

It’s certainly one of the biggest challenges I have encountered in my health journey.

So why am I telling you all this?

Because as with most things, it’s complicated.

Listening to Wes Streating Health Secretary discussing why changes are needed to the system, one can perhaps see he has a point, lots of people are claiming these benefits and are not entering the world of work.

He said “people aren’t getting the support they need” he means in relation to getting back to work - but there is also a deeper meaning - that of the health service not providing care for certain conditions, meaning people are just abandoned and left to survive on the system.

I personally think he is wanting to support those who have capability to work in order to help them back to the workforce. What his intentions are for those deemed to have limited capability for work, while still of working age, are as yet unclear.

There has been a lot of discussion around mental illness in the press, but of course for many people there is both physical and mental illness to cope with.

For those of us in the ME community we have been clear about the fact that the NHS has seriously undermined and affected our lives and ability to recover from ME because of the lack of investment in research and consequently viable treatments that could make a real difference to our health and consequently our wellbeing and ability to work. Many of us have lost long careers in good jobs which we are grieving the loss of. Young people with ME are denied the opportunity to even study or begin working.

And, because ME is so poorly understood by the medical profession, those assessing people with ME for benefits such as ESA/UC and PIP often don’t understand the impact it has on patients lives, despite the evidence that people supply. It’s a very difficult and stressful situation. And this is only compounded by the fact that the assessment process concentrates upon what you cannot do, rather than what you can! So that’s always a very depressing situation to go through, because you realise what you have lost and how the ME has devastated not only your life and health, but also affected that of your family and friends.

It would be so much better if a Work Capability Assessment for ESA/UC could assess what you can do? Then perhaps one would be more positive about the world of work. This applies across all illnesses, disabilities and situations.

So what do benefits pay for?

PIP is there to help people with disabilities live their lives. Whether for example that’s physical help in the home, transport costs, mobility aids, living aids, whatever is needed. And obviously running those items, so electricity, petrol etc.

ESA/UC is designed to support your living costs. Whatever those costs are and include food and fuel etc 

Of course all costs keep going up, so when the government is talking about freezing benefits, or stopping benefits you can see why people are getting upset.

So now we wait to see what the government says, and their plans to reform the welfare system. 

I re-iterate that these words are my own views.

17th March 2025