Surrey Citizens Advice calls for urgent review.
Press Release 16 May 2019
The lives and health of people in Surrey with long-term disabling conditions such as autoimmune disorder and painful degenerative conditions are being made worse by a failing benefit process. Long delays in the process of applying for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) now routinely lead to dire financial circumstances.
Severely disabled people are being forced to borrow money from friends, rely on food banks and face the threat of homelessness.
This is the stark message of a new research report – A Rubber Stamp? Mandatory Reconsideration in the PIP – published* jointly last week by all the Surrey Citizens Advice charities. The research shines a harsh light on methods used by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to decide if someone really needs the PIP.