Teenage quadruple amputee told to prove he is disabled to keep benefits

[sammason]

Here in Britain, for the last few years our system of welfare benefits has been in the news.

Comments

[barakta]

Problem is, this is not news.

Disabled children have ALWAYS (or at least for a very long time) had to reapply for DLA at 16 years old to prove they are still disabled even if they had an indefinite award.

The fact that it is now DLA to PIP doesn't change much of this general principle.

Of course PIP changing the goalposts hugely and rejecting legit applicants is a whole other issue. But the idea of people having to reapply is so not news it's distracting from actual should be news.

Despite my impairments being congenital, permanent and likely to deteriorate with age I applied for DLA 3 or 4 times before they gave me an indefinite award. I've not been PIPed yet but I'm expecting it virtually any time now.

[sammason]

I'm expecting that too and it scares the ferk out of me. A friend who works at Citizen's Advice Bureau sent me some info about the DLA to PIP change. When I get brave enough to read that info, I'll tell this comm what I find.

[dark_phoenix54]

Some conditions should just be marked for not having to be renewed. They do the same thing over here; every few years you get picked for having to go through the whole damn process again. I can see that in some cases, but when it's about missing limbs or other permanent damage? They are wasting government time and money and causing unnecessary stress on the recipient. It can take a lot of energy to fill out those mountainous forms and a lot of folks on disability just don't have that energy to spare.