PIP Concession for Armed Forces

[stu007]

Hi Caggers

 

Thought this info may be of use posted it already in Benefits forum as well as here:

 

18 May 2012

Today, The Sun newspaper has reported that disabled armed forces personnel will be exempt from assessment under the personal independence payment scheme.

“But David Cameron has now slapped down MoD bureaucrats and ruled that anyone left disabled by military service must be exempt from benefit cuts.

They will also be exempt from a new scheme to re-examine all claimants aged 16 to 64.”

The article also appears to imply that all non-military recipients of DLA are undeserving of their awards.

“Incredibly, MoD bureaucrats were insisting that wounded heroes get the same grilling as suspected cheats and scroungers — because they feared their cash-strapped department would be left to pick up the bill for administering the payouts.”

It should be noted that there was already an intention to apply special treatment to disabled military personnel. In its comment on the proposed changes to DLA the Royal British Legion:

“….called for seriously injured Service personnel, including those who have lost limbs, to be awarded special treatment by the DWP under their proposed benefit changes. Lifelong awards of the Personal Independence Payment awards to the most seriously injured personnel are consistent with the fundamental principle of the Armed Forces Covenant that, in some cases, Armed Forces personnel should be entitled to special treatment. This principle was written into law following the personal intervention of the Prime Minister exactly a year ago today, something both he and we warmly welcomed as an 'historic breakthrough'.”

These principles are now in the Armed Forces Act 2011. In certain limited circumstances, special treatment will be given to members of the Armed Forces ‘whose lives are irreparably altered by Service.’.

It should also be noted that paragraph 5.4 of the consultation DLA reform and Personal Independence Payment – completing the detailed design contains the following:

“5.4 In developing and designing Personal Independence Payment, the Department has taken account of the Military Covenant agreement that recognises the unique and important role played by the UK Armed Forces and ensures that they continue to receive fair treatment, are valued and respected as individuals. We are working with the Ministry of Defence to explore how we ensure that those injured as a result of service are able to access the right support and are able to live full, active and independent lives. As part of this, we will consider how veterans who are injured during active service should be assessed.”

 

Here is the link to the above article:

http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/piparmy.htm