Personal Independence Payment & The abolition of DLA PIP Personal Independence Payment & The abolition of DLA

PIP Original announcement – George Osborne - June 2010 ‘emergency’ budget: ‘reform’ DLA 20% cut in budget Simplify application Introduce medical assessment for all claimants End entitlement to DLA mobility component in Residential Care (since scrapped)

PIP Welfare Reform Bill: Replace DLA with ‘Personal Independence Payment’ from March 2013 Two Components: Mobility Component Daily Living Component Two rates of each Component – ‘standard’ and ‘enhanced’ Standard where ‘limited’ by medical condition Enhanced where ‘severely limited’ Qualifying period of 6 months Face-to-face assessment for many claimants

PIP Draft assessment criteria Briefing notes promise: It will remain a: non-means tested non-contributory non-taxable cash benefit payable to people in and out of work. But will be delivered in a “fairer, more consistent and sustainable manner.”

PIP (all) assessments will include advice provided by a trained independent assessor who will: collect evidence from a wide range of sources. In many cases this will involve a face-to-face consultation but in some cases paper-based assessment may be more suitable “The key is a review process that is applied sensitively and appropriately, which disabled people and their representatives have helped us to design to get it right…” DWP retain decision making responsibilities

PIP Will set up ‘multiple channels’ through which disabled people will be able to access PIP information, make claims and report changes in their circumstances Will establish online claim facilities in the future in addition to a paper claim form. “The DLA claim form is too long and complicated. We will actively work with disabled people, their organisations and carers to design an improved form that is understandable and as straightforward as possible”

PIP ‘number of areas of specific activity that we will be taking forward to support the introduction and delivery of Personal Independence Payment, including: Design and development of a new IT system Production of new claimant information materials Development of contract specification ‘to support the procurement exercise to select the service provider that will deliver the objective assessment’

PIP Required period condition: Must have had difficulties for six months and be likely to have them for six required period condition to be reapplied where someone’s condition deteriorates “conditions that can be expected to have periods of remission… will not have to fulfil the qualifying period again if they make a further claim within a year of the date they were last entitled” Qualifying period change predicted to be particularly problematic for people going through treatment for cancer

PIP Award duration 70% of DLA awards indefinite PIP will be ‘a dynamic benefit which can respond to changes in individual needs and circumstances’ PIP awards – “for a fixed term, except in exceptional circumstances” length of award will be “based on the individual’s needs and the likelihood of their health condition or impairment changing” (recommendation at assessment) In exceptional circumstances will make ongoing awards. ‘tailored approach’ to reviews may involve face-to-face assessment with ‘trained independent assessor’, in some cases could be a paper-based assessment, ‘if that would be more appropriate’

PIP Daily Living component Planning and buying food and drink; Preparing and cooking food; Taking nutrition; Managing medication and monitoring health conditions; Managing prescribed therapies other than medication; Washing, bathing and grooming; Managing toilet needs or incontinence; Dressing and undressing; and Communicating with others. Mobility Component Planning and following a journey; and Moving around.

PIP Technical note accompanying PIP criteria suggests very limited awareness of DLA criteria: we have sought to incorporate a wider variety of everyday activities than those covered by the current Disability Living Allowance criteria… e.g. “the inclusion of communication will enable the assessment to take better account of the impact of impairments which impact on sight, hearing, speech and comprehension…”

PIP Scoring: First descriptor 0 points; Points likely to broadly increase as you move down the list In some cases, descriptors may receive the same points; scores may not follow a uniform pattern for each activity but ‘will reflect the individual characteristics and priority of each activity’

PIP Priority: Low scoring: Managing medication and monitoring health conditions Managing prescribed therapies other than medication Medium scoring: Planning and buying food and drink Preparing and cooking food Taking nutrition Washing, bathing and grooming Managing toilet needs and incontinence Dressing and undressing High scoring: Communicating with others Planning and following a journey Getting around

PIP Big impact for mental health The kind / amount of help: Wipes out Mallinson and replaces it with: ‘Assistance’ – i.e. physical help; or ‘Prompting’ Needs to be either: Continual – “where the person providing the support must help the individual for the entire duration of the activity’ or Intermittent ‘where the person providing the support must help the individual for over half the time that the activity takes to complete’ Big impact for mental health

PIP Many ‘DLA difficulties’ no longer count at all Much of supervisory criteria is lost Distinguishes between physical and verbal help Much more defined activities – no longer enough to be ‘in connection with’ Help must be needed throughout an activity or for more than half the time to count Rigid defining of what words mean: exclude many from qualification make it more complex Leave little scope for interpretation/ widening qualification through Caselaw.

PIP – wider implications Potential double whammy: loss of or reduction of disability benefit may also mean: loss of Carer’s Allowance and premium/addition loss of additional amounts in means tested benefits / tax credits/ HB for the person with disabilities Could more than double the effect for the poorest claimants Lost income may affect funding of personalised budgets, supported living schemes, ILF, income from home care charges etc Much higher impact in areas of high, long-term limiting illness and disability.