There is fear and anxiety amongst the spinal cord injury (SCI) community regarding the Labour Party government’s proposed plans for tightening the eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) using the ‘daily living’ section of PIP.
Many people with SCI, like Julie, Janet, and Dan in this article, are worried they might not fit within the extremely tight parameters set by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
This mental health toll is something that is of great concern for the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), the organisation that represents those living with a SCI.
DWP PIP cuts bill will hit people with spinal injuries hard
The current government watched as the last administration callously cut the benefits of the most in need, and the impact this then had in terms of mental ill health and suicide.
Yet, this new Labour government, barely a year old, that witnessed this chaos unfold before it, is now going down the same road, boasting about the amount of welfare reforms it is undertaking.
These proposed ‘reforms’ include a tightening in eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – a ‘gateway benefit’ just for disabled people. Even those with high level SCI needs might find it a struggle to get four points or over in each ‘Daily Living’ section. That shows just how tight these parameters are, and just how many people living with substantial needs might lose out.
With these cuts to PIP likely to affect many people with SCI, it is so important the voices of those potentially impacted are heard. But many fear this government isn’t listening.
That’s because cutting a benefit like PIP for someone with a SCI, could have a severe impact on their ability to be independent and contribute to the world, including through work. Losing independence will also add to the cost for government rather than reducing them, and the cost to the person with SCI could be their mental health, with increased anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
Loss of independence and a huge mental health toll
Julie from the East Midlands, who damaged her spinal cord when she fell down the stairs and sustained an injury at T12, said:
If my PIP was cut then I wouldn’t get my Blue Badge which could leave me housebound. I would need to access more services from the NHS and get more help from them. I wouldn’t be as independent.
Due to childhood trauma, Julie said:
I pay privately for trauma therapy that isn’t available on the NHS. My mental health would be affected if these cuts meant I couldn’t pay for my therapy.
I can be independent at the moment, as I can afford to buy the products and services I need on a daily basis. But without that, my quality of living would drop, and I would become dependent on others.
Remaining as independent as possible is something that is incredibly important for disabled people such as those with a SCI. The Disability Consortium found that 84% of disabled people it surveyed said that PIP helps them stay independent.
Many of the expenses disabled people rack up are due to society not being ‘set-up’ and accessible for disabled people.
This can affect every area of life, such as a higher rent or mortgage for accessible housing, higher transport costs, expenses specific to a disability, and products and services, including care.
Rather than fixing these societal problems, the government has instead gone down a punitive route, by targeting PIP claimants.
Not just abandoned by Labour, but cruelly targeted
Clinical Psychologist Dr Jay Watts put it best when she said:
Instead of scapegoating the vulnerable, ministers should fix the systems that fail them, not dismantle lifelines.
Lots of disabled people chose to vote for this government hoping for change. They hoped this new government had a better understanding of the complexity and cost of living with disabilities. But now, disabled people don’t just feel abandoned by this government, but unfairly and cruelly targeted.
This is how Janet from the East of England feels. She has SCI due to extensive multi-layer degenerative disc disease, and has had to undergo multiple surgeries. She has both bowel and bladder problems, and further issues, including depression due to poor pain management.
With such extensive disabilities there’s a high financial price-tag. Janet said she uses her PIP to pay for physiotherapy, massages, hydrotherapy, and psychotherapy. Due to incontinence, she must replace ruined clothes and bedding, plus pay for the extra laundry costs and water usage. She pays for help in her garden, and for items such as grabbers and a massage chair seat.
She said:
I worry about the costs I have that are ongoing, I score 10 points but don’t score 4 in one category.
I asked Janet what she thought of the Labour government trying to push through these reforms. Janet said:
They just don’t care.
She added:
Labour is targeting the disabled because they believe we do not have a voice. They will rue the day they proposed these cuts come the next election.
PIP: providing a vital safety net and security in work
Dan from East London has a T3 complete SCI due to a traffic accident. He said losing PIP would be very worrying as it provides a safety net. He explained that:
It allows me to live in my flat and pays for essentials plus emergency unexpected items.”
Looking back at the years since his accident, Dan said:
It’s been a long journey. Without my amazing family and friends, it would impossible. There is always a new challenge and often there is little or no support, so the learning curve can be very punishing along with constant pain and chronic fatigue.
Dan is one of the many disabled people who works. And although PIP is not an ‘out of work’ payment, ministers often link PIP cuts to getting “more disabled people into work”.
So, to play their game for a moment: how does PIP keep someone like Dan, with a SCI, stay in work?
Dan said:
PIP has been extremely valuable as although I have been able to work, it is not constant due to various health issues. PIP gives me security and has also paid for expensive disability adaptions and mobility aids I’m not able to get funding for.
As Dan explained, sometimes he has had to take time off due to health issues, and PIP has helped with this, giving him security.
Julie, who is a teacher, has had to limit her time at work to three days:
This is due to fatigue and pain, and means my wages are lower than before the accident.
Due to her double-incontinence, Julie buys discreet pads. She has a fear of an odour due to this, so also uses a lot of perfume and deodorant. She said:
At work, I need a clean area to use my catheters. I buy disinfectant wipes, bags, extra clothing and there is extra washing for soiled clothes.
If her PIP was cut, Julie’s main worry is she wouldn’t be able to keep up the level of intimate and personal care to keep her clean, dry, and odour-free to do her work.
Cuts ‘locking claimants in a vicious cycle’
So, what would be the mental health impact for people like Julie, Janet, and Dan if their PIP was threatened, and how could that also have an impact on their physical health?
Dr Jay Watts said:
This stress amplifies SCI-pain, weakens immunity and invites complications like pressure sores while reduced funds for physio or equipment accelerate physical decline, such as muscle loss, joint issues – the works.
Worsening physical health then deepens mental health struggles, locking claimants in a vicious cycle where each fuels the other.
In an open letter to the government, the SIA implored it to tackle the societal problems affecting disabled people like those with a SCI, rather than targeting individual claimants with cuts. It pointed to five key areas:
- Access to Work: According to Disability Rights UK (March 2024), there are over 37,000 unresolved applications, with some disabled people waiting up to 254 working days for support.
- Social care: The Health and Social Care Committee (October 2023) reported a £7 billion annual funding gap, leaving around 3.5 million people with inadequate or no care.
- Continuing Healthcare (CHC): Age UK (2024) found 60% of families face delays or refusals, creating unacceptable regional inequalities.
- Wheelchair provision: An ITV News investigation (November 2024) reported waiting times of over two years for NHS-provided wheelchairs in some areas.
- Accessible transport: The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC, 2024) found that 41% of disabled passengers avoid public transport due to accessibility concerns.
The ‘serious and far-reaching consequences’ of PIP cuts
The SIA, in its open letter, went on to say:
Cuts to welfare support will not only reduce the financial independence of people with SCI but will have serious and far-reaching consequences for their mental and physical health. Living with a SCI already places significant daily demands on individuals from managing complex care needs and navigating inaccessible environments to coping with chronic pain and isolation and psychological trauma. Reductions in support will increase stress, anxiety, and depression and heighten the risk of secondary complications such as pressure ulcers and infections.
‘Daily living’ for those with a SCI, like Julie, Janet, and Dan, has been fraught with difficulties over the past fifteen years, with many key societal services around them failing. This has vastly increased the cost of living for disabled people, with the financial load impacting on them mentally, and in terms of their physical health. Cutting PIP will make this bad situation even worse.
Julie said:
People’s independence and quality of life will be impacted and if they are no longer able to look after themselves, who else is going to do it? This is not a cut in funding it is a potential rise in healthcare costs.
The SIA agrees, and has said those without the PIP lifeline are under threat of losing:
- Access to care and equipment
- Their ability to stay in work or education
- Their independence, health, and in some cases, their homes
The SIA said:
By speaking out together, we can show MPs just how damaging these proposals are and how urgently they need to be opposed.
There is a big rebellion of Labour MPs against this bill. Can they succeed?
Featured image via the Canary
By Ruth Hunt
This post was originally published on Canary.