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The announcement of the government’s plans to reform Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is causing “fear, panic and anxiety” for many people with disability and long-term disability, MPs say. heard.
Immediately after the announcement, one charity reported a spike in calls to its helpline from people with “suicidal thoughts” amid fears of losing existing support, or “literally no hope” of receiving future support. is gone,” he said.
This comes after the Prime Minister announced last month that he wanted to overhaul the welfare system for people with disabilities to make it “sustainable and fit for the future” after a significant increase in the number of people quitting their jobs due to poverty. This was after the announcement. mental health.
Changes announced include a consultation on PIP reform, as well as changes to the WCA and a new WorkWell pilot program aimed at helping people return to work.
However, campaigners are concerned that the system unfairly penalizes long-term workers, forcing some to return to work early.
Ruth Wakeman, director of services, policy and research at the Crohn’s and Colitis Royal Hospital, told the Work and Pensions Committee that for many people applying for benefits, “talk of sanctions is very damaging”. “Many people are concerned that their condition will not improve,” he said. It is taken seriously.
“Assessors don’t understand what Crohn’s disease or colitis is,” she told MPs. “They look at the healthy-looking young person in front of them and evaluate them based on their subjective opinions.
“Such changes are therefore very concerning to us, because the level of understanding and awareness is low and some of the descriptors do not work at all.”
Becca Stacey, senior research fellow at the Institute for Money and Mental Health Policy, said the proposed changes would “make it harder for people with mental health problems to get the extra support they really need.” It will become.”
He said there was already a “huge knowledge gap around mental health” within the DWP, with official figures showing that as of February this year more than 20,000 DWP work coaches had not received up-to-date training in mental health. He said that it has been done.
He added that changes to the Limited Capacity for Work-Related Activities (LCWRA) regulations, which define universal credit claimants who are deemed unable to return to work due to health conditions, are also “very concerning”.
Ms Stacey said the definition is important because it acts as a “vital protection” against being asked to work for applicants in this category, as “the WCA routinely fails to capture mental health issues in particular”. explained that it was important.
“So you’re actually just creating a more unstable economic base for someone, and that means that at some point in the future, that person will be able to engage in work if they want to or if it’s appropriate.” It does not encourage any means or conditions.”
MPs also said that any of the charities appearing on the panel, including the Institute for Money and Mental Health Policy, the MS Society, the Crohn’s and Colitis UK Society and the ME Society, have no plans for the new Workwell scheme to be rolled out. I heard that the DWP has not consulted me about this. later this year.
The DWP has been approached for comment.