DWP could scrap 'repeated' PIP assessments in major shake-up

A new online petition on the Parliamentary website calls on the new Labour Party government to “stop repeating PIP (Personal Independent Payment) assessments for disabled people”.
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The Department for Work and Pensions may stop "repeating" Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments for ALL disabled people. A new online petition on the Parliamentary website calls on the new Labour Party government to “stop repeating PIP (Personal Independent Payment) assessments for disabled people”.

The petition - backed by 3,000 people - warns: "Stop DWP repeating Personal Independence Payments assessments for disabled. Disabled people need support and respect. We think repeated investigations are dehumanising, and interrogation-like interviews and repeated legal battles to prove entitlements to benefits are distressing.

People with genuine disabilities have to repeatedly provide Doctors notes, letters and prescription information (sometimes at personal cost) simply to prove their ongoing entitlement. We believe a decision to end entitlement should be a medical decision not a cost-saving exercise."

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At 10,000 signatures, the government will respond to this petition and at 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament. PIP is a benefit for people with a long-term health condition or impairment, whether physical, sensory, mental, cognitive, intellectual, or any combination of these. It is paid to make a contribution to the extra costs that disabled people may face, to help them lead full, active and independent lives.

The benefit is not means tested and is non-taxable and non-contributory. This means that entitlement to the benefit is not dependent on a person’s financial status or on whether they have paid national insurance contributions. PIP can be paid to those who are in full or part-time work as well as those out of work.

PIP is focused on the functional impacts of a long-term health condition or impairment, to help people with increased costs. PIP sits alongside support provided by the NHS and local authorities and is not meant to duplicate that support, the DWP stipulates on its website.