UK Claimant Says PIP Ended ‘With Immediate Effect’ After DWP Decision

DWP PIP benefit cancellation claimant Emma Boulton, Digi Mart USA News: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have raised concerns that their benefits have been “taken away” amid a sweeping reduction in welfare support from the government.

One claimant, Emma Boulton, says PIP was supposed to be the support that “helped her through recovery”. The PhD researcher lives with autism, epilepsy and dysplasia.

She told the Big Issue that she received a letter informing her that her PIP had ended “with immediate effect.” She told the magazine: “I’m autistic, I have epilepsy, and I have dysplasia in both hips. None of that is going to change.

PIP was meant to be the support that helped me hold my recovery together, and for a while it was.”

She continued: “The letter offered no evidence that I had improved and no explanation of why a judge’s ruling no longer applied, just a line saying my needs had changed. I had told them I was worse.

They decided I was better.” The report was also covered by Birmingham Live.

“It was the third time a DWP decision had given me exactly the same score: two points for reading, and zero for everything else. Every time my case has been looked at independently, I have won.

Every time the DWP has looked at it, I have lost everything.”

Under DWP regulations, changes in circumstances can have an impact on a PIP award. Depending on the nature of the change, PIP could increase, decrease, remain unchanged or cease altogether.

Providing incorrect information or failing to promptly report changes could result in court action or a financial penalty.

Claimants must contact the PIP enquiry line immediately should personal details change, such as name, address, phone numbers, bank account or doctor, or if someone acting on their behalf changes. Such changes will not ordinarily affect eligibility for PIP or the amount received.

Changes that must be reported include requiring more or less assistance with daily living and mobility tasks, or being admitted to a hospital, hospice, nursing home or care home. Further changes include moving into a residential school or college, entering foster care or the care of a local authority or health and social care trust, or being imprisoned or held in detention.