Here is the draft of a letter I intend to send to my MP. I should be grateful for any suggested amendments, and if friends could write in similar terms to their own UK Parliament representative. Dear Gordon, I write to ask you to take urgent action to ensure that a system of interim payments is introduced for claimants who have already waited 6 months and more for their claims for PIP to be assessed and paid. I am sure that like your colleagues and Citizens Advice you will have had many requests for assistance in dealing with this from individuals, and have had to advise them that there is little you can do on their behalf. Macmillan Cancer Support report that 60% of cancer patients are waiting over four months for a PIP decision to be made and that 25% have been waiting for more than six months. Government figures indicate that unless swift action is taken, the backlog of PIP cases will take 42 years to clear. The recent Public Accounts Committee report makes scarifying reading, and if the suffering and ongoing stress of people who are already ill and disabled is not sufficient of a consideration, costs to the taxpayer caused by the delays are escalating, and wiping out any savings to the public purse which may have been anticipated. The introduction of a system of interim payments is not ideal for such seriously flawed legislation, but for those who are waiting for assessment and Payment, it may be the difference between life just above the breadline, and life in miserable poverty and dependence on Food Banks and fuel tokens. Thank you for you attention to this urgent matter, Yours sincerely Mary
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 10:57:47 +0000
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