Work in Progress

I am having a go at writing my blog again after spending so much time away

PIP Mandatory Reconsideration and Appeal

I finally read the decision makers reasoning for why I should not be awarded PIP and I found it just knocked the stuffing out of me. The deadline for asking for a mandatory reconsideration on my zero points PIP decision is looming. I spoke to the CAB advisor on Tuesday and I said that the decision maker had clearly missed certain points and the CAB officer said that I should phone the DWP and ask for a mandatory reconsideration but part of me thinks that I do not have the energy to go through that shit again and all the anxiety that goes with it. Perhaps thats what the DWP want?. I feel like that I am giving up but I also feel angry. Part of me thinks I just want to say fuck the DWP and jumping through all there fucking hoops. Why do disabled people have to constantly have to prove they have a disabilty when it is written in medical records and reports often for years?. I feel like I want to say that I have a disability that effects me almost every day in one way or another but apparently it doesn't meet their fucking criteria but I don't want your fucking money anymore. I mean how disabled do you have to be these days to get any sort of support?. These people who make these decisions have absolutely no idea what it is like to live with a disability. I wish someone from the DWP had a brain injury for a few years and see how they get on with it and then they might think again.

PIP Medical and the white Letter from Hell

I had had my letter telling me that the lifetime DLA award I had been receiving was going to end and I would have to apply for PIP. I finally went for my PIP medical at the 3rd attempt, the first two appointments had been cancelled. Don't worry about me mate and the anxiety it was causing me building up to the date and then cancel the appointment the day before. Finally got to interview day and having got to the centre I was then escorted by the SS to the floor where the interview rooms were. The guy who interviewed me was pleasant enough and asked me questions about my head injury, the treatment I had for it and what rehabilitation I had had. The interview finished I felt that I had told him all the things I wanted to and how it was affecting my life. After waiting some time I finally received the dreaded brown letter from hell. I did not want to open it so my Wife opened it instead and read through it and told me that I had received a big fat zero points for anything. Great I went all through that for nothing. It looks like another trip to the CAB office.

A Trip to the CAB Office

I went with my Wife to the Citizens Advice Bureau during the walk in time from 9-3.30. I have never been to the CAB office before and I can now see why I could not get through on the phone as it is very busy. I basically spent about two hours there but most of that was waiting. I eventually saw a person who had experience with DLA and PIP and basically said I was on the right track. He gave me some extra printed material to help with the descriptors. I have noticed in the new PIP application since the last time I filled in a DLA application that there are now more hoops to jump through all designed to catch me out no doubt. It just gets to me sometimes because it is just about money and no one is going to come round to help me. The thing is after you have a head injury after so many years that you never see the head injury consultants anymore and you just have to try and get on with your life and if you need anything you have to go through the GP. I received another brown letter today saying that they had no medical notes from my existing DLA claim, thus putting more pressure on me. I am thinking of digging out my old reports from the head injury consultant from 20 odd years ago and copying them as evidence to prove this injury actually happened and I still have effects of it now. Oh well.

Your [Lifetime] Disabilty Living Allowance is Ending.

I had a really nice letter from the DWP before Christmas saying that my DLA is ending. I knew I was going to get the dreaded brown envelope from hell at some point and now I have got it. I have felt for a long time that the Government want to take as many benefits from people as possible. Whatever I think about it I now have to deal with it. I am worried if I lose DLA about what impact to other benefits if I do not have a DLA proof of benefit letter. Am I just going to disappear as a person with a disabilty?. Hey isn't that what the Government want for all these benefit claimants to disappear?. I thought it would be easy to ring up and ask for them to send me the form where I will have to virtually write my life story. However it was not that easy as they do everything over the phone. I phoned up the number and went through the options and I got to speak to one of the robots of the DWP who sounded like they were reading everything from a computer screen. I found it very weird. I also found some of the questions stupid like do they want to use information used in my current DLA claim included. They said after I fill in my form I may have to go to a medical so I said I can't wait having been to medicals for Incapacity benefit before. I now have the 40 page form PIP About Your Claim and I plan to get help from the Citizens Advice Bureau. However I may have to go to there office in town as when I phoned up I gave up as I was 16th in the queue. I have about 3 weeks to get this form done so here goes.

What Shopmoblity?.

What is it with Shopmobility being closed when you want to use them? My Wife thought it might be easier to loan a wheelchair and push me around rather than me hobbling around in pain. Went to Shopmobility and it is closed on a Monday. Great.

Power to the people

The cuts have also began to hit the school where two of my children go to and just lately most of the Mums have been talking about one of the popular teachers who was told she was being made redundant. She was phoned up on her mobile while she was shopping in Waitrose to be told she was being made redundant. That's a nice touch, wouldn't have speaking to her face to face been more suitable?. As a result of the shock of this she collapsed in the middle of the shop.

As more was found out a petition was started to say that the parents objected to the decision to make this teacher redundant and would they reconsider. Even parents of children who had left school in previous years wanted to sign the petition.

As the petition grew bigger other teachers were saying to the parents that they should stop the petition as there was no point. Also the teachers were saying that it was upsetting the children as they began find out that one of their favourite teachers would be leaving.

A committee meeting was held on Thursday and as parents waited to find out what was happening and today were issued with a letter saying the redundancy process was being stopped.

This is a copy of the letter which was received today. I say this petition has helped influence this decision. We will have see how this develops. I say Power to the People!.