Disability benefits process is ‘inherently flawed’, MPs told – so what?
Protesters against disability benefit cuts hold banners near parliament [Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP].
As many as four out of five cases where a claimant has been denied disability benefits are overturned on appeal because of systemic failures in the initial assessment process, MPs have heard.
Frontline welfare advisers told the work and pensions select committee that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) process was “inherently flawed”, resulting in thousands of wrong decisions and causing widespread harm and distress to claimants.
In some cases, a decision not to award a PIP was overturned by a tribunal after it had taken account of medical evidence from doctors about the claimant’s condition that had been ignored by officials during the initial assessment.
Source: Disability benefits process is ‘inherently flawed’, MPs told | Society | The Guardian
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we all know it is flawed however unless claimants push a case against the assessor for fitness to work themselves then nothing will happen, the complaints procedure that is used amounts to nothing, i did not even get a apology, just that he did not do his job properly, until this starts to cost this government in terms of losing assessors at tribunal, complaints against decision maker’s, compensation and in the case of suicide via negligence court hearings which no doubt they defend highly saying it was causal which we all know is bull in great quantities, there targetting the most vunerable, who struggle to make complaints even me took about a year or more before i considered myself well enough to do it, to only get half the replies i wanted and a lot of ducking in the answers, they need to hang there heads in shame and people need to as well as complain hit them where it really hurts by voting and by that it also means any party and there MP’S that supports this policy and help to unseat them.
other than that you may as well give up,let them come up with there great british tory pick what we want repeal bill and watch them stiff everyone except the rich of course
Yes there was initially some issues with disability payments many of which could have been reduced by more frequent reviews and better and more in depth reviewing of the situation. Even the first cuts were heavy handed and would have been better served by actually understanding the detail first but as usual the Hooray Henries just blitzed the whole system with little or no common sense applied. If they had just stopped at the first cull then they might have got away with it however as usual the clueless idiots went for broke thinking the Tory sheep would applaud them for flushing out the parasites draining their beloved slush fund. Not to be… they now have blood on their hands for their thoughtless acts attacking the poor and vulnerable who will remember them at election time.
Even the last statement is incorrect the Tribunals don’t take medical evidence into account they just go through the flawed assessment process questions again. When you have a tick box points culture the chances of getting it right one way or the other are remote.
actually they did in the two cases that i went through and a subsequent case as well, where the evidence came from a cmht and other’s, that actually was a very short tribunal (15 minutes roughly) and went against the dwp.
i do agree this tick box culture is wrong and the report they give as well when read by someone who is reasonably knowledgeable about the case. condition can put good argument across, what is more wrong is the payment process, instead of doing a fair job they are doing a job motivated by greed, that is when you have a problem
complaining against the assessor also helps strengthen a case, that depends on the person,i advise complaining against assessor before tribunal, however in the two tribunals i went to i chose not to do that as this makes it harder for the companies involved to say we did nothing wrong when there is a tribunal ruling.
.MY experience was that the tribunal judge ignored my doctors and consultants letters and the evidence by a professional advocate that the assessment was a collection of fabricated statements and had complained to ATOS. I had also provided evidence thar proved the assessor had lied. I was excluded from the hearing and my requests to be included by telephone were ignored. The judgement was based on what the medical expert wrongly expected what symptoms I might have based on my condition rather than my individual experience of it..
It took over a year to get a hearing. Then 3 months for a statement of reasons. While waiting I have been accumulating more medical problems. A complete breakdown of my mental health and social isolation. I now have a broken leg after a fall caused by having to attempt to get to a local shop with no motability car and have been totally helpless but I was ordered to attend a fitness for work assessment and was told that if I did not attend my ESA would be cancelled automatically by the computer and nothing could be done