Disability benefits without the fight
Disabled people are having to fight for the benefits they need. Many are having to go through stressful appeals processes, just to get what they are entitled to.
We know benefits are an essential public service for disabled people. Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC) are a lifeline for many.
The benefits system should be working for disabled people. Not against them.
Join us in calling for fairer assessments
We are calling on the Government to give disabled people the right to request an appropriate assessor.
Although all assessors are medically trained, not all of them are appropriate. If your mental health means you can’t work, should a physiotherapist assess your needs?
In the current system, there’s no way to make sure you’ll get an assessor who understands mental health. And the wrong assessor can lead to the wrong decision.
Disabled people should be assessed by someone who understands them and their impairment or condition.
A benefits system that’s failing disabled people
Time and again assessors are getting benefits decisions wrong. Taking vital support away from disabled people and their families, creating enormous amounts of stress, anxiety and pushing many into poverty.
Between 2017 and 2019 the Government spent more than £120 million fighting appeals to benefit decisions.
Evidence from the appeals process for PIP and ESA shows the system is flawed and needs to change.
Benefits appeals
- Less than half (48%) of people who had an assessment were given PIP
- Three quarters (72%) of people who go to tribunal over their PIP decision are given benefits
- Two thirds (66%) of Work Capability Assessment decisions were overturned on appeal.
It shouldn’t be a fight. Disabled people should get the right benefits the first time around.
Disability benefits: learn more
Find out more about benefits and appealing a decision.