Contact your MP ref PIP ESA appeals procedure

A little late as the consultation , I believe was for the month of October 2016 but I have written to my MP to ask him to consult with Damian Green , Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.Having taken info from here and an internet search I wrote the following letter- I have pasted it so you can have some idea how to word your own. Obviously you will need to change the order and write it in your own words, I know it helps to have a starting point but letters can't be identical.
Having been reassessed for PIP from DLA I have been turned down and also at the mandatory reconsideration.So I have to continue the painful stressful process of appeal. Not to mention the financial hardship
I have also found a petition that people can sign if you should want to, you will get further emails from it ref other campaigns so check if there is an unsubscibe box. I apologise if this post sounds prescriptive. I am just desperately worried about my own situation and all of you people who are going through the same harsh experiance as I am . Should I be allowed I also hope to post the questions put to me at my ATOS assessment , when I have time!!!

LETTER

The DWP seek to reduce claimant’s success rates at PIP and ESA appeals. They intend to identify cases which will go to upper tribunals. This means that even if you win you will still have to wait months for an upper tribunal hearing; above and beyond the months you have already waited for a first level appeal.

If an appeal by the DWP is upheld then they can then return it to the first tier tribunal, the claimant may not be given the opportunity to present again. Eighty six new presenting officers are being recruited who will be subject to target performances to refer to the upper tribunal with the effect of deliberately delaying cases causing untold stress and financial hardship. If a presenting officer refers just one appeal a month then over 1000 claimants a year will be affected.
The DWP has been found not to investigate claims against them, or do so in an improper manner. This leads to further abuse against disabled people as it sets precedence for sanctioning poor or rude behaviour and behalf of their staff in the work place.

In addition to this it is proposed that appeals move away from the court process, and are heard by a clerk /solicitor, also on target related performance. This with the claimant unable to appear but proposals for a webcam interview , a phone call or even just paperwork.

I am directly affected by this. Having been on DLA for some years, it was stopped after an assessment by ATOS for the DWP. I was turned down for PIP. The difficulty is the extreme stress caused by going through the process of claiming and rejection which is protracted and difficult. It is extremely harsh that the benefits stop whilst you go through appeal. I am now in considerable financial hardship with a risk of losing my home as even if my appeal is successful the time is deliberately protracted in reaching appeal. And with reference to the above, you can clearly see that it could extend to over a year which is discriminatory and impossible to cope with emotionally and physically.

I do have to say that the Government in its zealous to reduce benefits has hit disabled people in a discriminatory and bias way. It has used the media to portray claimants as lazy, unintelligent scroungers. The evidence for this is the rise in physical and verbal abuse on disabled people which has escalated disproportionately in recent years; this also has resulted in murder. The media, especially television constantly has a schedule of benefit claimant style programming seeking to identify and fuel the campaign against those less able.

END OF LETTER

Please consider writing, Good luck with your cases.

hi.
absoulutley agee with everything written in this letter,.its a disgrace how they are treating unwell vulnerable people in the country,they should be ashamed of themselves, ,do they honestly think we are just scroungers !!! i would love nothing than to be able to live a normal life and go to work but unfortunately my health physically and mentaly unables me to do this ,,the process we are having to go through is discriminating ,your made out to feel like a rougue and a liar ,when in actual fact the health assessors are the ones that blatently lie away through people reports thats the truth of the matter ,,i have my tribunal tommorow 9th nov ,ime terrified of having to go through this ,,but ive been determined although the process has been very stressfull and worrying financialy ,but personaly i choose to go to appeal as they should not be allowed to keep getting away with making unjust decisions on people welfare and needs they have enough medical evidence sent to them from specialists etc ,but there say and decisions are final and there not even qualified in any health proffesions,. honestly this goverment is a compete joke , good luck to everyone going though this daunting experiance ,,
alison