Tag: Budget 2022

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One In Four Pip Review Forms Not Returned Within Deadline. More Deliberate DWP Chaos Ensues

Figures released by the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) in June have revealed that 25.5% of PIP AR1 review forms were returned late or not at all in the 12 months to February of this year (2023)


According to Viscount Younger, 5th Viscount Younger of Leckie, an elected hereditary peer who sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords), only 7% of claimants who received an AR1 form were disallowed for non-return.


Some claimants already have an additional support marker which means that decisions can be made without the form being returned.

Other claimants may have been granted an extension of time for returning the form.



However returning a PIP form can be extremely difficult to say the least due to the DWP’s telephony chaos and their lack of urgency to resolve it.

Alternatively claimants have also reported receiving their renewal forms with only a week remaining to fill it in and post it.

This then results in the claimant trying to phone the PIP line up to get an extension and not able to get through to any help.


Other claimants have also reported receiving less time to complete and return the form also confirming that when they try to phone up to request an extension their calls are being cut off.


I suspect that thousands of PIP claimants are being refused their payments because they are prevented from requesting an extension as a result of not being able to talk to anyone on the PIP line.

If this happens to you you can appeal their decision.

The amount of already vulnerable people forced to suffer even more because of the government’s incompetency is immense and shouldn’t be ignored.

These people are your neighbours, friends, relatives and each and every one of them deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. They all deserve to receive their PIP payments to help them cover their everyday needs.

It’s a scandal that this is happening and I urge to contact your local MP and voice your opinion on this. If you don’t tell them they won’t know the impact that this is having on you.

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Many thanks to Benefits And Work for their reporting on this subject.

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I Struggle To Feed And Keep My Kids Warm. Real Life Stories From The Public.

As the never ending cold winter and the ever increasing cost of living and energy costs continues once again I took to the streets and interviewed several people in my local town Ashton Under Lyne.

Ashton Under Lyne is a typical northern working class town, drained of money by the government and the majority of people living in differing stages of poverty.

Mortality rates are amongst the highest in the UK and there’s a higher rate of people either being unwell or living with some type of disability.

Like any other northern working class town it doesn’t have a lot for people to aspire to despite the positive changes that Tameside Council are implementing and trying to introduce.

Years of government forced austerity policies has been and continues to cause a lack of funding for essential services with most things already stripped to the bare minimum.

As I headed off into the cold I spoke to a young woman that had two young children with her. I introduced myself and asked her how she is coping with the cost of living and the ever increasing energy crisis.

As I asked her this I could see that she was upset, telling me that she thinks that she’s failing her children because she can’t give them the things that she used to be able to do.

“We’re living in a cold house trying to keep turning the central heating on at a bare minimum. I usually turn the heating on for an hour in the morning and again in the evening at bedtime, that’s if I’ve got credit because I’m on a prepaid meter”

She went on to say that her health is suffering most likely because she’s cold and because she often doesn’t eat meals, if she does it’s a bare minimum. “I can’t afford to eat as well as my children and they always come first”

I asked her how she keeps warm when the heating isn’t turned on. “I wear layers of clothing and I have a thick blanket that we all snuggle under. I’ve got a little fan heater that I use just to keep the chill off because I don’t want the children to become ill and even that’s a struggle. Once I run out of credit on my meter that’s it it’s gone and I can’t afford for that to happen”

She told me that she often takes the children to the library that has a warm area and her children can have a look at some books and she can have a free cuppa.

However she continued to say that sometimes she found this very difficult because she doesn’t always want to be around other people..

I asked her if she had visited a food bank recently and she said yes she has and is now dependent upon them even though it’s still a struggle saying that they’ve been a lifeline for her and her children.

But despite getting help from food banks they don’t cover all of her food and every day living costs so she has to try and fill the gaps in.

“I’m always topping up my energy meters, I’ve never had this problem before. It’s bad, really bad I just wish that it wasn’t like this”

I signposted her to several organisations that might be able to help her but this is only a sticking plaster.

Whilst the government sits back and causes the suffering of those most vulnerable her experience is going to be repeated time and time again

Their inhumane policies will undoubtedly cause malnutrition and hypothermia related illnesses and worse.

Undoubtedly there will be recorded deaths of those suffering like this but how many will actually be reported as so.

Every death related to this needs to be reported and spoken about in parliament. The government is knowingly causing the suffering of thousands if not millions and they need to be reminded of this every single day.

This shouldn’t be happening at all.

I will continue to share the experiences of those that I interview in future blogs, hopefully weekly.

If you would like me to use your story get in touch I’m happy to do so.

Let’s be clear no one should be forced to live like this.

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Believe it or not there are still people that aren’t aware that this is happening.

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By doing so I will be able to help others more.

Thank you xx.

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PIP Appeal Rates Rise By 119%

It has recently been revealed by Benefits And Work that PIP (Personal Independence Payments) appeal figures have risen by 119% in 2022, this is compared to the same quarter in 2021.

The rate of UC (Universal Credit) appeals has also risen by 28% the latest official figures show.

The number of cases that were dealt increased by only 18% in the same time period compared to figures from 2021.


Figures show that there were 63,000 outstanding cases by the end of September 2021 which adds to an annual increase of 96%.



The average wait time for an appeal averaged at 31 weeks. This shows that it is 8 weeks down from 2021 figures , but is likely to increase over the coming quarters as the backlog rises inexorably.

The success rate for PIP appeals remains unchanged at 68%. This shows that the vast majority of those who appeal are correct in their decision to appeal however the wait time for appeals to be heard continues to rise.



For UC claimants it is revealed that the appeal success rates are now at 49% which is an increase of 7% on the previous year.

DLA (Disability Living Allowance) success rates are now at 61% which is down 6%.

Meanwhile ESA (Employment and Support Allowance success rates are now 53%, down on the previous year at 1%

Appealing against any DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) decision is always daunting and extremely stressful. Not only is the appeal process hard to navigate, the waiting times for appeals and tribunals to be heard is increasing.

The success rate shows that those making the decision to appeal have made the right decision in doing so.

Sadly many people that are entitled to appeal fail to do so because they can’t afford to wait a long time for their appeal to be heard and also can’t cope with the stress involved, many having no support network to rely upon.

I don’t need to tell you that the downright discrimination and hatred given to disabled and unemployed people is totally unfair and discriminatory.

This cruelty combined with the increasing cost of living and energy prices is making life extremely difficult for those that are most in need of financial help.

In an ideal world this wouldn’t be happening at all but there won’t be any positive changes made to the system whilst there’s a Tory government in power.

The conservative party is doing what they do best, punishing the most vulnerable and poor for their very existence, they need to be stopped and soon before more people suffer and die as a result of their actions.

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Thank you!

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Universal Credit Cruelty Highlighted Again

TRIGGER WARNING. Contains mention of suicide and trauma.

A collection of stories that highlight the amount of cruelty that UC (Universal Credit) claimants are forced to endure has been recently published by Disability News Service (DNS). Sadly these stories won’t be a surprise for UC claimants

One such story article describes the death of a disabled woman who was left traumatized by the overbearing daily demands made by the UC system.



Upon applying for UC the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions)were told of the mental distress that the system was causing which in turn led to suicidal thoughts and an overwhelming fear of the DWP and the universal credit system.

Despite their knowledge of this the DWP continued to harass her.

Tragically she took her own life four days after being told she would need to attend a face-to-face meeting with a DWP work coach.

Another example describes how disabled claimant Philip Manion struggled enormously when he saw his UC payments cut from £1,260 to £500 due to a mistake made by the DWP.



Philip tried to attend a meeting to rectify this mistake but instead he was taken out of the Jobcentre by seven security guards. Their reasoning for this was because he found he was unable to log into his online journal from his mobile phone.

To add even more insult to injury he was then recorded as having failed to attend the meeting, despite attending and all of his UC payments were stopped.

Disability News Service went on to describe how former nurse Shirley Rudolph spent 10 years caring for her husband and was placed in the limited capability for work category due to suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.



Rudolph’s husband died in July and she subsequently informed her work coach that she wouldn’t be unable to attend their scheduled meeting because she was making arrangements for her husband’s funeral.



Rather unsurprisingly her work coach wasn’t sympathetic and moved her appointment to the following week. At the same time they sent Rudolph a job application to complete immediately.



As a result of the distress and the pressure Rudolph was forced to undergo she chose to end her universal credit claim and is now surviving on her NHS pension alone forcing her to struggle immensely.



Although horrible this comes as no surprise to many disabled UC claimants that find themselves hounded by the cruel UC system that deliberately targets disabled claimants forcing them to unfairly comply with rules that they are unable to achieve.

It goes without saying that no one should be forced to live like this disabled and non disabled, but sadly I can’t see this stopping for the foreseeable future.

Please read, share and tweet this article, every share makes a massive difference and raises awareness.

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Ashton Under lyne, baby, Black Isle Media, Boris Johnson, Brighthouse, confidence, Cookery, coronavirus, cost of living, covid 19, Damien Green, Decision maker, dignity pre paid funerals,, DLA, domestic violence, domestic violence,, DPAC, DWP blog,, Elderly, energy poverty,, ESA, eugenics, Family, feminism, Food, Food bank, food poverty, Free, frugal, fuel poverty, funeral plans,, G4S, government, Green Party, Housing, hunger, Hygiene Poverty,, International Women's Day, Ireland,, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobcentre, Ken Loach, liz truss, Mandatory reconsideration, Money saving tips, New Charter Housing, NHS, NHS dentist, Northern resisters, Payday loan, PIP, PIP claim, poverty, pre paid funeral plans,, pre paid funerals,, prepaid energy, prepaid energy metres, Republic Ireland budget 2023, Republic of Ireland,, safe hands,, sanctions, Steven Crabb, suicide, targets, Tax credits, television, Television Licence, Television Licence fines, Teresa May, The Big Issue, The Labour Party, The Poor Side Of Life, Theresa May, trade union movement, Uncategorized, Universal credit, womens rights, Workfare, Workprogramme, young people

Hunts Budget A Budget For The Rich.

On the day of yet another budget announcement, Hunt has just released the details of the governments latest budget proposals. Here are some of the highlights.

Means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit, will rise in line with September’s inflation figure of 10.1% from April 2023.

The National Living Wage will be increased from £9.50 an hour for over-23s to £10.42 from April 2023.

Additional payments of £900 will be paid to those on means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, £300 will be paid to pensioner households and £150 to people on disability benefits.

Pensions are to go up by 10.1% in line with inflation along with benefit payments.

Rent increases in the social rented sector will be capped at 7% in the next financial year in England.

Energy firms will now pay a windfall tax of 35%, up from the 25%.

The point at which the highest earners start paying the top rate of tax is being lowered from £150,000 to £125,140.

Electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from vehicle excise duty from April 2025.

People claiming legacy benefits won’t fully transfer to Universal `credit until 2028 rather than 2024.

Along with the budget announcements came the Autumn Statement which announced that approximately 600,000 people that claim Universal Credit will effectively be forced to work apparently despite their ability to do so. No mention was given as to how this was going to be done and how they plan to do this.

Considering that the employment rate for people claiming Universal Credit was 41% in June 2022, how are these people going to be able to commit to this?

Are they sick and or disabled?

Do they have caring and childcare commitments?

What real life skills do they have to enable them to find a suitable job?

As of`July 2022, 2.4 million Universal Credit recipients are working.

1.7million are disabled with no work requirements.

1.4 million are searching for work.

400k are preparing for work.

The real problem isn’t unemployment, one of the real problems is instead low wages that don’t pay enough to live off thus the need to be topped up by Universal Credit.

The language that the DWP and government uses towards Universal Credit claimants is also questionable.

The DWP say that ‘Claimants will be asked to attend a meeting with a work Coach’. However they don’t mean ask, they mean must attend despite whatever commitments a person might have and their ability to do so.

As I’ve stated many times in this blog a failure to attend will result in a sanction being given to the claimant which always results in any benefit payments that they receive.

Another reason as to why some people, mostly women can’t find a suitable job is the cost of childcare.

At the time of writing childcare providers are shutting at high levels. Last year a total of 4,000 childcare providers couldn’t afford to keep their doors open and were forced to shut. Undoubtably this will increase in the coming year this will result in fewer available childcare places and increasing costs.
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For two thirds of working parents the cost of childcare outstrips their rent or mortgage payments. Research undertaken by the Women’s Budget Group has found that over the last decade childcare fees have steadily increased at twice the rate of wages.

What is needed is more investment in childcare and childcare providers. This would provide three times as many jobs and if done correctly could potentially boost the economy by £28bn.

Childcare as well as being essential pays for itself It essentially will gain increased tax revenues and reduced benefits expenditure, but still there no mention of this.

Rather expectedly nothing that was announced in Hunts budget will target the richest. Yes freezing thresholds are expected to hit middle income households and cutting spending will hit lower income households the hardest. As they say, it’s expensive being poor.

Where is the increased tax burden on high income households? Why aren’t wealthy households being taxed more?

Why isn’t there an increase to capital gains tax rates, income tax, inheritance tax or stamp duty?

Once again the poorest and most vulnerable will pay the highest price whilst the richest will escape unscathed, ready to profit off the backs of those much worse off.

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