Disabled people’s feelings over the proposed changes to the way PIP is awarded range from worries about how they will afford to pay their bills, to anger at how the government could be so callous and cruel. There is a real sense of the government being out to harm disabled people, that the Bill is not about getting people into work, but about demonising and punishing the disabled and vulnerable. Even the latest versions of the Bill don’t protect disabled people properly.
‘The Bill has been a wreck from the start’
Disability rights campaigner Fiona Robertson (she/her) says”‘It was never about work – you can’t say you’re trying to help disabled people into work while cutting Access To Work.”
She questions ministers motives. “It is clear from the interviews, reports, and answers given by most MPs that they don’t understand how disability benefits work or why they exist (it’s not altruism). They know what they’re doing, they know the consequences, and they are accelerating them by talking about our lives as ‘unsustainable’.”
Disability advocate (Co-founder of Cool Crutches & Walking Sticks) Amelia Peckham (she/her) calls it a ‘shambles’. She says “it has been so chaotic and embarrassing to watch. The cost saving has bounced from £5 billion to £3.5 billion to £2.5 billion to today, where it looks like there might not be any cost saving at all. No one could confirm the data, no one has any idea of the impact this has on disabled communities or government spending, so it was quite a monumental waste of time.”
Amelia suffered a quad bike accident when she was younger. A doctor described her spine injury as looking like a smashed meringue. This has left her needing walking aids for the remainder of her life. Amelia was denied Personal Independence Payment (PIP) during an assessment in 2018, being told she wasn’t ‘disabled enough’.
‘Not Disabled Enough’
Katie (she/her) claims PIP due to severe autism, hypermobility and cPTSD symptoms. She thinks that ‘under the new rules I would lose all of it’ I can still technically do everything listed in the PIP assessment, just poorly. This means that I’m not disabled enough for them anymore.
Katie needs help from her girlfriend (who acts as her carer). She helps Katie to get dressed and washed, and talks on her behalf due to Katie’s sensory issues. Katie says, ‘If she’s not with me, she often has to video call to calm me down enough’ to be able to do all of the above. Katie goes on to explain ‘when alone during term time, I am often unable to cook for myself because of my lack of precision and the noise/smells involved.’ This results in Katie spending money on eating out or food she will never eat.
‘Without PIP I would almost certainly go homeless. This effectively gives me a deadline of January 2026 to get out of this country’.
On January 28, 2026, some individuals claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be contacted for a new style PIP review. The rules will have changed since their last review, and they will have to work through the new guidelines.
Poppy Hackett (she/her) receives the enhanced rate of PIP for her mental health and mobility problems. She is currently getting help to move to a ground floor property.
‘I can’t really walk anymore, so stairs are becoming very difficult’
Poppy says she always fears what might happen. “It’s something you live with every day but you don’t really dwell on it after a while, I have a PIP review every two years so it’s not a lie. The threat isn’t already there, it’s just a different threat if that makes sense.”
Widespread criticism
The Welfare Bill has been met with widespread criticism.
Kirsty Blackman (she/her), MP for Aberdeen North voted against the Bill. She says “Labour cannot be allowed to attack the most vulnerable people in society.”
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has sent a letter to the UK government, and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe expressed their feelings and fears for the British public if this Bill were to become law. https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/united-kingdom-tackling-poverty-is-crucial-to-protect-children-s-human-rights-a-number-of-other-areas-also-call-for-attention
Within the letter they both make multiple criticisms and posit questions to the government. These include.
- Not consulting closely enough with people and groups affected by changes proposed in the Bill.
- Limited scrutiny of the Bill in the House of Lords.
- The extent to which other intended Bills such as PAFER would allow the DWP to monitor the bank accounts of universal credit (UC) recipients with algorithms scanning for fraud.
- Questions over what (if any) impact assessment on the disabled has been carried out.
Mikey Erhardt (he/him), Policy Lead at Disability Rights UK, said:
‘By no means does all the tireless campaigning of disabled people to overturn the government’s reckless cuts mean the PIP system is beyond criticism The UN last year highlighted that over the last 3 years, over 600 people have died as a result of our cruel system’
However the old system offerred more support than the proposed new one, so disabled people fear a lot more people may be let down badly if the new rules become law.
Find support
North West Bylines encourage all those affected by these developments to reach out to loved ones, friends and community groups for support,
The following is a list of helpline services are accessible in the UK:
- Samaritans: 116 123 (available 24 hours, every day)
- Shout 24 Hour Text Service: Text SHOUT to 85258
- SANEline: 0300 304 7000 (4.30pm to 10pm every day).
- National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK: 0800 689 5652 (6pm to midnight every day).
