Government plan to restrict Personal Independence Payment

The government’s plan to restrict Personal Independence Payments (PIP) flies in the face of its commitment to tackle the ‘burning injustice’ of mental health, and we need to do something about it.

Late last week, the Government announced that over 160,000 people with mental health problems will be denied access to the financial support that is supposed to enable people to live independent lives.

This new law wouldn’t reduce the benefit of anybody who is already claiming PIP. But it would mean that people with mental health problems wouldn’t be able to get access to additional support that courts have ruled they’re entitled to.

At Mind we’re fighting to stop that happening. 

These changes are coming into force on March 16th so we have to act fast.

Here's what we're doing: 

• We’ve been talking to MPs and members of the House of Lords, urging them to vote to stop these changes from happening.
  
  
• Last year we asked hundreds of you to tell us about your experiences of claiming PIP so we’re using what you’ve told us to let MPs know the massive difference that getting the right benefits can make to people’s lives.
  
  
• We’ll be giving you ways to contact your own MP so sign-up to be a campaigner and look out for our email. There’s a real chance that with your help we can get this damaging and misguided legislation reversed.
  
  
• We’re also raising the issue in the media, talking to journalists so we can get the message out that mental health matters every bit as much as physical health.

We know that people who struggle to leave the house because of anxiety, panic attacks and other mental health problems face extra costs in their everyday lives.

People need access to these benefits, to get by, to do the things that help them stay well, to see friends and family, and to live independent lives. Those are the stories we need to be telling right now. Please get in touch if you think you could help by telling your own. 

But we won’t stop there. We are looking into a possible legal challenge if these changes do come into force. And beyond these changes, we’ll carry on making the case for a welfare system that supports and empowers people with mental health problems.

That’s about challenging assessments that don’t understand people’s mental health.

It’s about challenging the harmful effects of benefit sanctions on people with mental health problems.

It’s about challenging planned cuts to Employment and Support Allowance.

And it’s about continuing to support people with mental health problems to have their voices heard in the decisions that affect them.

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