While media personalities and politicians are pretending to be puzzled by why so many people are suddenly claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP), newly published research has the answers- and it comes from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) itself. Yet this report has been hidden by successive governments – including Labour – until one journalist got it via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
DWP PIP: new data reveals what many of us knew
The Triggers to Claiming Personal Independence Payment report was published last week, to little fanfare from the DWP and absolutely no attention from the press at all. This is almost definitely down to what the paper revealed, which was definitely not what those backing cuts wanted.
The department took a sample of 400 “recent” DWP PIP claims between September and October 2021 and after conducting initial telephone interviews, whittled it down to 21 claimants whom they probed further.
For months, even years now, the media and successive governments have touted the lies that benefits are easy to claim and that people want to live a cushy life on benefits, when in reality of course, this isn’t true – and the research backs that up.
Claimants were asked questions that ranged from those about health and their knowledge of DWP PIP to straight up why they applied for it now and what influenced them to do so. The questions, though appearing pretty innocuous, seemed to have an edge of “why now?” and “who told you to?” that many disabled people are used to when claiming support.
Despite the DWP hoping otherwise, the paper revealed what those of us on benefits already know: that the main reason so many more are claiming is because the world has gotten too expensive. That years of disabled people getting the thin end of the wedge have destroyed our health even more.
Motivations
When asked about what motivated them to claim DWP PIP, now most claimants said that it was down to financial hardship, worries about employment, and their health deteriorating. They also mostly had never previously tried to apply for the benefit, as they thought they wouldn’t qualify or had never needed to. Some also cited the removal of the Universal Credit uplift, which gave disabled people more security during the early stages of the pandemic.
When asked about their concerns, many said the application process was daunting and frustrating. Some were even made to feel like they shouldn’t apply and worried they’d “get in trouble” for claiming it if the DWP decided they didn’t qualify for PIP.
A direct quote from one distressed-sounding claimant made me want to cry in anger
I felt bad and thought was I going to be in trouble for applying. And there was a question on whether you were turned down before. And I thought should I or not or should I leave it until I couldn’t do anything?
In my head my friend said it was to help you stay independent. Then I’m thinking should I apply now or should I wait till I can’t move? I’m still a bit afraid.
Not quite the scheming, work-shy, tax-stealing ghouls the media has portrayed benefits claimants to be, is it?
The most revealing part for me, and probably why the government hasn’t been crowing about this report, is where claimants heard about DWP PIP and who encouraged them to apply.
Where are people learning about DWP PIP?
While some did mention family and friends telling them to apply, many were told by staff at the Jobcentre, at Universal Credit meetings, and even from the gov.uk site.
One said:
I had to apply for Universal Credit, through that process the chap asked me if I’d applied for PIP. He said I would qualify suggested my carer did so.
Another more clearly points to the DWP itself, whilst reiterating fears about not being deserving
I read what I could on the Government website and that was it really. I wanted to see if it would be beneficial for me. I wanted to see if the amount of money would be worth it or whether it was better off going to people that really need it.
Despite the media’s love of insisting that disabled people on TikTok are coaching everyone on how to hoodwink the government to steal benefits, social media wasn’t mentioned at all.
The only media outlet that was specifically mentioned hilariously was the Sun, one of the most right-wing rags who regularly trot out what they consider “trashy” benefits claimants apparently rolling in their DWP PIP money and driving around in fancy cars all day.
Of course, the report reveals nothing new to disabled people. We claim PIP, as many stated, to get our independence back and mostly survive.
But it’s odd isn’t it, that when politicians on the morning TV rounds have all been demanding to know why there’s been “dramatic rise” in DWP PIP claimants for months, that they aren’t suddenly ecstatic to finally have their queries answered.
Well, despite it not fitting their agenda to get the public to support cuts, it’s also probably not a new report to them.
Here’s the thing
You see, despite this research only being released last week, as the dates suggest, it was conducted almost four years ago and completed in 2022. That’s right, successive heads of the DWP have sat on it and refused to release it.
As John Pring reported at Disability News Service, not only did conservatives Chloe Smith and Therese Coffey stop it from being released, but Labour minister Liz Kendall did the same thing.
The report was originally obtained by Pring through an FOI request in February and, as he said, it:
provides strong evidence to explain the need for increased spending on personal independence payment.
This is probably why, despite the department making a big show of releasing a huge chunk of research that the Tory government tried to make disappear, the most damning bit – which explained the risks to cutting benefits and how much people depended on them – was not part of the mass dump.
At the time, the absolute spineless turncoat Stephen Timms said:
Things that ought to have been published and made public have been hidden, and that has contributed to a loss of trust.
Yeah. Nothing says “contributed to a loss of trust” than a man who once chaired a committee into DWP deaths now championing cuts that could kill disabled people more than ever before.
But wait. There’s more.
The DWP: burying the evidence over PIP
Pring also revealed in March that the government purposefully delayed the publication of this research until after the Pathways to Work Green Paper and the cuts were announced.
Dylan Murphy, a member of Unite the Union and DPAC told Disability News Service that in response to another FOI asking for a copy of the report, the DWP claimed it would be published in “early April”. The department did not acknowledge an email from Pring asking them to explain why they were delaying this until after the cuts had been announced.
It’s pretty clear to see why Kendall and Co have tried to bury this research.
Despite them trying to justify that many don’t actually need benefits and that many won’t actually starve to death and that claimants are all lying about ADHD because TikTok told them they can rake in thousands, the DWP’s own report shows why people actually claim PIP – because we need it to survive.
The DWP wants this PIP research to go unnoticed so they can keep spreading lies about benefits claimants and destroy our lives further.
So, that’s why we need to shout about it from the rooftops.
We need to be sharing this under every single tweet and post trying to justify the cuts and every clip of right-wing gobs on sticks spouting off about scroungers.
They want this research hidden so they can quietly destroy our lives, but we won’t go quietly.
Featured image via the Canary
