{"id":842126,"date":"2025-04-19T18:12:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T23:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/19\/people-with-long-term-health-conditions-welcome-government-decision-on-payments\/"},"modified":"2025-04-19T18:12:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T23:12:40","slug":"people-with-long-term-health-conditions-welcome-government-decision-on-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/19\/people-with-long-term-health-conditions-welcome-government-decision-on-payments\/","title":{"rendered":"People with long-term health conditions welcome Government decision on payments"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"WEST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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People<\/a> with long-term health conditions, including a man given 12 months to live, have said they welcome the Government\u2019s decision not to freeze the personal independence payment (Pip) despite rumours to the contrary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Work<\/a> and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall<\/a> announced an overhaul of the welfare system and reform to disability benefits on Tuesday after she said the current social security system was \u201cfailing the very people it is supposed to help and holding our country back\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The measures in Ms Kendall\u2019s announcement include reviewing the Pip assessment with a view to longer-term reform to ensure the process is \u201cfit for purpose now and into the future\u201d and confirming the payment will not be frozen, which has been a relief for many.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall leaves Downing Street, London, after a Cabinet meeting (James Manning\/PA)<\/p>\n

PA Wire<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some people with long-term health conditions said they had felt \u201cfrightened\u201d ahead of Tuesday\u2019s announcement, amid rumours the personal independence payment would be frozen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Des Longstaff, 39, who lives with terminal cancer, has claimed Pip and said he welcomed the changes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s great news. It\u2019s the last thing that I would have needed to happen because I need to be able to live,\u201d Mr Longstaff, from Lytham St Annes, in Lancashire<\/a>, told the PA news agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cUnfortunately, I\u2019m stuck between a pillar and a post at the moment. If they froze it, then I wouldn\u2019t, I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do or where I\u2019d be at really.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Kendall also announced \u00a35 billion of savings, which will largely come from changes to eligibility for Pip, but also from a reduction to the health element of universal credit, it is understood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Longstaff welcomed the savings, but said he feared he may not live to see the changes after doctors warned he may only have months to live when he was diagnosed with stage 4 advanced oesophageal adenocarcinoma on December 23 last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not something I\u2019m going to see, unfortunately, unless I have a miracle. But for everybody else with other disabilities, it\u2019s going to be a bonus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Longstaff has since started a GoFundMe campaign with the aim of raising \u00a344,000 to fund life-changing treatment in Germany, which may add years to his life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Read More<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Meanwhile, Stephen Kerr, 57, who said he lives in \u201cconstant pain\u201d from osteoarthritis, said he was \u201ctentatively positive\u201d about the Government\u2019s changes, but that he had felt scared Pip could be frozen following the rumours.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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(PA Graphics)<\/p>\n

PA Graphics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt did frighten me to think (the Government) are going to be raiding the least advantaged people in the country to pay for the problems caused by the last government,\u201d Mr Kerr, from Northampton, told PA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is thought Ms Kendall\u2019s plans will save billions of pounds by the end of the decade, but Mr Kerr said he felt the Government<\/a> was \u201cbeating the wrong end of the problem\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cDisabled people didn\u2019t cause austerity, the banks to crash, housing to collapse. Disabled people are often used because a lot of us are economically inactive, so we\u2019re used as the whipping boys and girls,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Other measures from Tuesday\u2019s announcement include scrapping the work capability assessment for universal credit, which Mr Kerr welcomed but said he remained sceptical about whether the Government would keep its promises.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m quite tentatively positive about the fact that (Ms Kendall) said the work capability assessments for people with lifelong conditions won\u2019t be constantly reassessed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cNothing ever sounds as good as it is. She made it sound as if we\u2019re going to save money and that those with the longest-term conditions are going to be OK.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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(PA Graphics)<\/p>\n

PA Graphics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI welcome that if it\u2019s true, but I must admit that I\u2019ve seen so many governments come and go. Unfortunately, I can\u2019t hold them all as truthful.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Kerr has lived with osteoarthritis, diabetes and arrhythmia for seven years, and relies on his family to help him cook, clean, wash and dress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said he lives in \u201cconstant pain\u201d, taking daily painkillers which help but \u201climit life\u201d, adding that having Pip \u201cgives me a little bit of self-worth back\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Kerr said he welcomed the Government\u2019s support to help disabled people get back into work after he found navigating \u201cthe massive system of the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) has been really, really hard\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI welcome any changes to make it easier for disabled people and unemployed people to either get back to work or to make it easier to live with our lifelong conditions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Government\u2019s announced changes on Tuesday included plans to tighten the eligibility for Pip, creating a higher threshold for people to qualify, but both Mr Longstaff and Mr Kerr said their benefits would not be impacted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People with long-term health conditions, including a man given 12 months to live, have said they welcome the Government\u2019s decision not to freeze the personal independence payment (Pip) despite rumours to the contrary. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced an overhaul of the welfare system and reform to disability benefits on Tuesday after she<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":842127,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28103,287],"tags":[10112,6149],"class_list":{"0":"post-842126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-term","8":"category-people","9":"tag-long-term","10":"tag-people"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}