The Commission on Social Security would like your thoughts on our proposal for an Additional Costs Disability Payment.
This would be a replacement for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Like with the rest of the Commission’s work, we are designing proposals for a reimagined social security system that is designed by and works for those of who rely on it. It would be vastly different to the current system.
There is an increasingly hostile environment around PIP and well-founded fears about future cuts. The Commission on Social Security believes it is crucial Deaf and disabled people can access a payment that covers the additional costs we face, without facing significant barriers when applying for it. Recent research has shown how receiving disability benefits has a significant impact on an individual’s wellbeing and estimated that this provided an economic value which far outweighed the costs of providing these benefits. The same research demonstrates the negative impact of not receiving disability benefits has on disabled people who do not get them. Although receiving disability benefits may increase wellbeing, research has also shown that the assessment process often causes significant distress and the high appeal success rate suggests too many decisions are not made correctly.
With this in mind the Commission on Social Security wanted to develop a new approach to an additional costs benefit. One which understands that as disabled people we are experts in our own lives and that the additional costs and barriers we experience are not restricted to the 12 daily activities the current system uses. We are therefore proposing a framework for an Additional Costs Disability Payment.
The Commission is currently consulting on this proposal and we would like as many people to be involved in this as possible. There are two main ways to do this. One is to complete an online survey. This can be found here. If this is not accessible to you and you would prefer to email your thoughts, please let us know at: commissiononsocsec@gmail.com and we can email you our proposal to give feedback on.
As well as our online survey we are also going to be holding 6 focus groups. These will be held online via Zoom. We hope the focus groups will allow for some in depth discussions about our proposal. If you or anyone in your networks wish to take part in a focus group, please email us at: commissiononsocsec@gmail.com Focus group participants will receive £30 high street vouchers after they have taken part in a session. Two of our focus groups will have BSL interpreters, these will be on the 7th and 14th March. Information about this work can be found here.
About time a replacement is found! I used to claim DLA. I’ve been unable to work since I was 26, and I suffered a major stroke (followed by another one when I was 41). I’ve been further disabled by arthritis. I was instructed to switch to PIP,and was refused several times. I’m now waiting for tribunal, but I’m struggling badly!