New disability benefits still causing problems

"They might ask 'can you walk so many yards?'," says the chairman of Shropshire Disability Network.

"They might be able to walk that number of yards, but they can't then walk back, and they don't know what to say.

"The criteria is different and people find it difficult."

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were introduced in 2013, replacing the previous Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people of working age. The thinking behind the reforms was fairly straightforward. Whereas DLA was a uniform benefit applied to people who met certain criteria, under PIP each individual would receive a personal assessment and get support tailored to their needs.

The minister behind the scheme, former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, said: "It is important not to write disabled people off to a life on benefits.

"Many can work, want to work, and need our support to get them into work."

The scheme was initially trialled in the north of England in April 2013, but was extended to cover Shropshire later that year. In the early months there were reports of payments being delayed because of a backlog of cases, and patients missing chemotherapy appointments because they had to be assessed.

But while few would argue with the principle of supporting disabled people in their efforts to find work the implementation of the policy, coupled with pressure from the Treasury, led to Mr Duncan Smith sensationally resigning from the cabinet last year.

Mr Duncan Smith quit the government in March last year after then chancellor George Osborne announced plans to reduce the budget for the payments by £1.3 billion. He said the changes were placing an excessive burden on the shoulders of the most vulnerable when it came to reducing the Government budget deficit.

He said at the time: "Yes, we need to get the deficit down, but we need to make sure we widen the scope of where we look to get that deficit down and not just narrow it down on working age benefits.

"Because otherwise it just looks like we see this as a pot of money, that it doesn’t matter because they don’t vote for us."

UK poverty charity Turn2us says the changes have left many people struggling to cope with their living costs.

The charity's communications manager Una Farrell says that while 4,388 people are already receiving PIP in Shropshire, it has seen an increase in people needing emergency support because they have been refused payments under the new plans. She says in the year up until March this year, 4,626 people across the county have turned to the charity for advice, and it has given out 1,400 grants for financial hardship. Not all of this will be down to the benefit changes, but Miss Farrell says it is definitely a factor.

"It might be people who used to get help with transport costs, who are no longer able to get it. That can be very difficult in somewhere like Shropshire, which is quite rural, compared to in a city where there is a bus stop on the corner of every street."

The charity says in many cases people are missing out on payments they are rightfully entitled to because they do not understand the process, or have answered questions incorrectly.

"Many people find the assessment very difficult and it appears that people are more likely to pass the assessment if they have someone to advocate for them," says Miss Farrell, adding that the charity will step in to help people who are having problems finding their way around it.

The charity's director Alison Taylor says missing out on PIP payments, having previously qualified for help under the old regime, can have real consequences for those affected. “This will result in a significant drop in the income of someone who has an illness or disability and represents the loss of genuinely valuable support," she says.

"It can have sudden and devastating consequences at a time when people are least resilient.”

Citizens Advice recommends that people include evidence from health professionals on how their condition affects them when making an application.

"It can give the Department for Work and Pensions a clearer picture of how your condition affects you and give you a better chance of being properly assessed," says the charity.

"Evidence could be a letter, report or care plan, and you can send it any time before the DWP makes a decision on your claim."

The charity says people should also keep a PIP diary, particularly if a condition changes from day to day.

"A diary is a handy way to record your bad days and how they affected you," the charity advises.

"You could use a diary as evidence as well as use it to help you fill in your PIP claim form. To help you, you can use our template diary. You can also ask someone to help you write it."

Miss Hartshorn says many disability support groups are now overwhelmed handling appeals against decisions, although she adds that those who do appeal have a very high success rate.

She says while she can understand the thinking behind trying to get disabled people back into work, she says there is often a lack of understanding about the capabilities of somebody with a disability.

"Take somebody with ME, for example," says Miss Hartshorn. "They might be able to do a couple of hours, but then they need a rest. You can't just go to be when you are at work.

"It is obviously a good idea trying to get disabled people into work, but there needs to be training and the appropriate level of support."

*Turn2us offers help to anyone struggling to access benefits through the website Turn2us.org.uk The charity says that it can help people understand and access what they are entitled to.