Disabled in Sheffield receive help with complicated system

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) has started #OffTheRecord, a campaign “by disabled people, for disabled people”.

Its aim is to steer members around the world of Personal Independence Payments (PIP), benefits for those suffering with long term health conditions or disabilities, who are still capable of work.

#OffTheRecord seeks to put a stop to assessment processes by "putting PIP on the record," making sure every assessment is recorded, which is a right under DWP policy.

This is difficult, though, because of the strict criteria governing what recording equipment can be used.

One of those benefiting from the service is Jennifer Jones, a claimant who experienced first-hand how bad PIP assessments can be.

She said: "The lady who assessed me couldn't even pronounce my condition, she didn't know what it was."

Jen, who couldn't give me her real name because she feared the DWP would find out and revoke her PIP, suffers with stress incontinence.

She recalled one traumatic experience, where she was forced to sit in her own urine for half an hour by an assessor who wouldn't let her go to the toilet.

She told of other claimants being asked things like: "When exactly did you catch Bipolar?", or, "how long have you had Autism?". The shocking tales highlight the incompetence of the people sent to make these life altering decisions.

"The phrase subpar doesn't come near to describing them," Jen said. But this incompetence costs lives.

In November 2019, Metro reported the death of a man who had his PIP cut by the DWP and died of pneumonia and respiratory failure while appealing the decision.

Jen said: "They are throwing up obstacles for us. They are making conscious choices and decisions to treat us this way."

To combat this, #OffTheRecord raises money to buy recording kits, which they then lend out to people with an upcoming assessment.

John from Sheffield, who was the first to use the recording kit, said: "I feel safer knowing that what I said cannot be altered in any way."

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