Protect your monthly PIP payments from any future changes to the DWP benefit (2024)

The new Labour Government has hit the ground running with Cabinet Ministers already in place promising to deliver for the people of Great Britain. Ten charities have already written to the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall MP, urging her to scrap previously proposed Conservative plans to reform the welfare system, including changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

One of the major concerns of the Tory reforms was the removal of cash PIP payments for some people claiming for certain conditions. Proposed alternatives in the ‘Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability Green Paper’, outline a move away from a fixed monthly cash payment system, which includes vouchers, a receipts system, one-off grants and making purchases for products or services through a catalogue scheme.

While in Opposition, Labour opposed these proposals, so it does seem unlikely they will remain. However, there are a few things all 3.5 million people currently claiming PIP can start doing now to help protect their award, and more importantly, payments from any future changes to the disability benefit.

If you don’t already have a copy of your PIP 2 evidence form - the health questionnaire you filled in before getting an assessment - contact the PIP enquiry line on 0800 121 4433 and ask them to send you a copy.

Having a copy of this will help you with any future reviews for PIP, or Adult Disability Payment (ADP) if you are due to transfer to the Social Security Scotland system before the end of 2025.

The form can help remind you of the original responses you gave to the daily living and mobility questions, but more importantly, it can help you explain how your condition affects you now - especially if your circ*mstances have changed and your health has declined or you have developed other issues.

Keeping a diary is one of the most important tools all disability benefit claimants should keep, and it doesn’t need to be a paper-based document. Using your mobile phone, computer, laptop or tablet can be a simple way to make notes of ‘bad days’ and recording key moments when something relating to your condition happened.

Creating a specific note, with the time and date, where you can add things you might want to mention at a future PIP review, or just adding it to the calendar function.

This isn’t something that needs to be done daily, just things that are relevant to how your condition affects you. This could include everyday tasks you found difficult to do on your own, forgetting to take medication, or feeling low or frustrated as a result of your condition.

Other things to consider taking a note of would be if doing everyday things:

• Were painful for you
• Take you a long time
• Puts you or someone else in danger
• Makes you feel breathless
• Makes you unsteady

This type of note-taking, or diary keeping, is also a handy idea for people with fluctuating conditions, as it could make it easier to describe to a health professional ‘good days and bad days’. It can also help you see the frequency of significant health events, which are sometimes so regular that they are quickly forgotten.

It’s also important to keep any medical appointments relating to your condition so that your records are up to date. This can also include counselling or physiotherapy.

It might also be worthwhile getting in touch with a charity that has expert knowledge of your condition, even just to contact them to make sure you’re not missing out on extra support.

For people claiming ADP, you can list a charity or an organisation that you’ve sought help or advice from about your health condition, long-term illness, or disability, as supporting evidence.

These tips are just a few of the ways people on PIP, ADP or Attendance Allowance can take to start protecting their payment award by creating a personal evidence trail that can make it easier to recall specific examples of how their condition affects them.

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