The Hardest Hit

Hundreds of thousands of disabled people are set to lose benefits and motability vehicles under the final rules for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the benefit that will replace Disability Living Allowance.

The new criteria for entitlement for PIP are much tougher than for DLA, so many are set to lose both DLA and access to the Motability scheme, which provides vehicles. These rules will affect everyone who claims DLA, as all current DLA claimants will be re-assessed to see if they qualify for PIP.

A key change is the test for people with physical walking difficulties: claimants will only qualify for the enhanced mobility component of PIP if they are unable to walk more than 20 metres. This will mean that over 100,000 disabled people will lose their Motability vehicle – their lifeline to being able to lead lives of independence.

On top of that, the proposal that claimants are only deemed able to walk more than 20 metres if they can do so ‘safely, reliably, repeatedly and in a timely manner’ will not be included in the regulations. This provision would have enabled the assessment to take account claimants experiencing pain, fatigue and conditions fluctuating, all issues that are vital to many people with arthritis.

These planned changes can be stopped

We need you to tell your MP how angry you are about the draft PIP rules:

• Arthritis Care has teamed up with disability charities to form the "Hardest Hit" campaign, to challenge cuts to disability benefits. Hardest Hit has created a tool to help people email their MP
• Do you think you will lose your current DLA claim under these changes? If so, you can personalise your email to your MP, and tell them that you will lose out under the PIP rules.
  

For more information, have a look at the Initial briefing note for MP’s and Peers on PIP regulations produced by “We Are Spartacus.”