Press release: Now it's up to Atos - Sense comment on today's disability benefit reforms (PIP)
13 December 2012
Commenting on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment criteria and rates released by the Government today to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Sue Brown, Head of Public Policy at the deafblind charity Sense, says:
"Now that the criteria for PIP have been published, Sense calls on the Government and the assessors to ensure that deafblind people are treated fairly and their needs taken into account in the decision-making for the new benefit.Deafblind people are often completely unsupported when applying for a benefit that they need to live on. During DWP assessment testing for PIP a completely deafblind person could not be provided with an interpreter. Another was asked to copy what the assessor was doing – despite not being able to see. These fundamental mistakes cannot be repeated.
The Government must ensure that the application process is as accessible as possible, and Atos and Capita must ensure that they correctly and fairly assess deafblind people for PIP. Sense will be monitoring their performance closely.
Sense hears from deafblind people everyday who are fearful about losing benefits they need just to get by. We are highly concerned about the level of stress placed on disabled people as they are being re-assessed for benefits like PIP which can be a frightening process. The DWP and the assessors must be aware of the level of distress, and do everything they can to be clear and provide information in ways people can access.
The Government has improved their criteria for assessing people for PIP, with separate assessments of the ability to understand both written and verbal information. Having impairments of both sight and hearing creates more barriers to daily living than a single sensory impairment*.
Any deafblind person in need of support can contact us on 0845 127 0060 (voice and textphone) or info@sense.org.uk for accessible information and expert advice.”
* "£5,000 to go to work one morning" for a taste of how expensive deafblindness can be and why disability benefits are a vital lifeline for deafblind people.
Case studies
Yvonne Mqadi (43) from Bath is deafblind and had to fight to get Disability Living Allowance with a tribunal appeal in April this year. She was born profoundly deaf and started to lose her sight when she was 12 years old because of a rare genetic condition called Usher.
Having to appeal has made Yvonne really anxious that she will lose out when PIP is introduced. She uses her DLA to pay for a support worker who is trained to communicate with deafblind people while she is looking for work. British Sign Language is Yvonne's first language, and because of restricted vision she needs a support worker who knows how to sign in her visual frame. She also communicates using hands-on signing, which is a tactile form of communication where she feels a support worker's hands to understand the signs. Although some hours with her communicator guide are funded through her local authority, she feels that she is not getting enough while she looks for work, so she also uses her DLA to pay for four to six hours a week (at £35 an hour).
Yvonne says:
"I am trying to live my life, but am struggling. I am asking the Government to please think about what it means to be deafblind, and to make sure Atos and Capita know how to assess us for PIP fairly. You've already hit disabled people with cuts - please don't hit us even harder by making more cuts to the support we need just to get by."
Nick Sturley (45) from Croydon was born profoundly deaf and is now visually impaired as well. This is caused by a very rare genetic condition called Usher Syndrome, which he found out he had at 12 years old. British Sign Language was his first language, but because he can no longer see signs he now communicates by feeling a person's hands as they sign, and then he sign backs.
Nick is profoundly deaf so he can't hear phone calls. Because he is visually impaired as well, he needs expensive equipment like electronic magnifiers so he can read text messages. If it wasn’t for his DLA, Nick would be set back hundreds of pounds a year just so he can use a mobile phone – something that so many of us take for granted. He also wouldn't be able to pay for a support worker's travel when he leaves his house to go anywhere – the supermarket, the doctors, even to visit his family.
Nick says:
"If my benefits were cut at all it would be a massive blow. It's just not the really expensive technology. There are very few people in the world who are able to communicate with me, so if I need to leave my house to go anywhere - the supermarket, doctors, visit my family - I need to be with a support worker who knows how to communicate with me and interpret the rest of the world. So I also use my DLA payments to pay for my support worker's travel costs since these are not covered by my social care package from the local authority."
Media enquiries
For media enquiries and interviews with Sue Brown or case studies, please contact the Sense PR office:
Anna Tsirmpa at 07770 580 843 or mediaenquiries@sense.org.uk
Notes to editors
Sense is a national charity that has supported and campaigned for children and adults who are deafblind for over 50 years. There are currently around 250,000 deafblind people in the UK.