People with MS left in limbo over PIP proposals

The consultation was mainly driven by the previous government’s desire to reduce spending on PIP, rather than a genuine wish to improve how the benefit works.

The current Labour government has still not announced if and how they plan to take these proposals forward. This is leaving disabled people – including many with MS – anxiously waiting to hear what will happen to a benefit many of our community rely on. 

We believe these proposed changes would be hugely damaging to people’s finances and health. So we’re calling on the government to scrap the proposals as soon as possible and communicate this with disabled people swiftly. 

People with MS already struggling with PIP

Yolanda Barker lives with secondary progressive MS and relies on PIP to help her pay for things like mobility aids and physio. But right now, she and her husband are struggling to make ends meet and she’s nervous about what the proposals might mean for her. 

She said: “Even now, I’m struggling to afford to do things which support my mental wellbeing. I’m isolated from my friends, I can’t drive because of my MS but getting on public transport is difficult. I haven’t had a proper haircut in years. 

“What frightens me most about the proposals is that we haven’t fixed the NHS yet, so I’m using PIP to pay for private therapies. I can see why a voucher scheme sounds like a good idea on paper, but it’s just not possible. I worry it wouldn’t cover all the different things that people with MS need. People should be allowed to exist and spend their money on whatever they need to.” 

PIP proposals risk pushing people into debt

Ceri Smith, our Head of Policy and Evidence, says 

Living with MS can be debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable – and comes with numerous hidden costs. 

If these proposals were taken forward they would force many disabled people to cut back on essentials they need to help manage their conditions, causing further harm to their health, and risk pushing people into debt.

Government must scrap PIP proposals

We've been campaigning for improvements to the PIP application and assessment process for many years. We know that claiming PIP can be hugely stressful and humiliating for many people with MS, and too often people miss out on getting the right support. Last year, our #10YearsofPIP campaign set out the many ways the PIP process has been failing our community. 

We’ve long been calling for PIP to be reviewed by the government. However, the proposals set out in this consultation will do nothing to improve how PIP works. In fact, they’re likely to make the situation worse.  

We want the government to carry out an in-depth review of PIP that genuinely looks at ways it can be improved to make sure disabled people can get the support they need easily, while being treated fairly. This should be done with the full involvement of disabled people, including the MS community, and organisations representing disabled people.  

We're continuing to push for the government to abandon the proposals and undertake a proper review of PIP. We submitted a response to the consultation, and we’ve been speaking up for people with MS in meetings with ministers and civil servants. We’ve also been working with supportive MPs to submit parliamentary questions (link opens in UK Parliament website) to hold the government to account. 

How can I get involved?  

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