Urgent input on disability benefits needed
There has been a lot of public attention to the recent announcements regarding disability benefits by the government and we know that our community are concerned about the impact that this will have. As members of the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), we are working to lobby MPs on this important issue and we need your help.
Proposed changes
As a quick topline, the government has proposed the following changes:
- Eligibility for the main disability benefit, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be narrowed
- In Universal credit, the measure used to determine if someone is able to work will be scrapped in 2028 and will instead be assessed through PIP
- The government will consult on merging Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment Support Allowance
You can read more about this here.
We believe that the initial vote on these changes will take place on 22 May. However the first changes, which are to PIP, won’t come into play until the end of 2026, with the rest happening in 2027, so there is still time for us to make an impact and change these plans.
How you can help
We want to hear from people currently claiming Personal Independence payments and the disability element of Universal Credit to get some statistics and real life stories to MPs in advance of the first vote on the changes.
Complete the survey
We have put together a short survey to understand the impact on people with axial SpA. You can complete the survey here.
The survey will close at midday on Friday 16 May.
Tell us your story
If you you would rather share your story directly than complete a survey, please email it to jill@nass.co.uk, covering some of these points:
- What award your currently have
- How your disability benefit helps you in your day to day life
- What sort of things you spend your money on
- What your worries are about the changes
Write to your MP
We need MPs to start listening and really understanding the impact that these changes may have on people. We recommend that people use their own personal experiences in living with axial SpA and the difficulties in the day to day living with the condition and how disability benefits help with this. If you would prefer though we have prepared a template letter which you can download here. Don’t forget to include your name and address at the top of your letter/email.
What we are doing
This is just the first step of the campaign by the DBC and we are proud to support this with statistics and case studies, as well as a portrait of how axial SpA affects people on a day to day basis.
NASS will also be responding to the consultation on the proposed changes as an organisation, as will the DBC as a group.
Going forward there are more plans for research and campaigning, depending on the need as things develop. We will of course keep you posted.