I presently claim Universal Credit (UC) and Personal independence Payment (PIP) for my disability condition of Autism and Schizoaffective Disorder. In 2022, after my boyfriend made me homeless in a psychiatric hospital I was found unfit to work and placed in the Limited Capability for Work-related Activity (LCWRA). Before I was with my boyfriend I had previously claimed Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
Fortunately in September 2022, the council found me a privately rented one bedroom flat which I still reside in today. My rent is presently £775 a month and the Housing Element of UC (formerly known as housing benefit) only covers up to £680 so I have to make the shortfall up from my UC allowance and PIP.
I don’t claim to full understand the new benefit reforms. It seems like they are removing the ‘Fit for Work’ assessment test and renaming the LCWRA as the Health Element which you only receive if are awarded PIP. My understanding is to receive PIP in 2026 you will require at least 4 points for one Daily Living Activity and to continue to receive a minimum of 8 points. This is causing a lot of worry for many people as previously people could score 8 or more points over the 10 Daily Living Activities without being given 4 points for a single activity. Therefore this is a major reform
In my last PIP Review Assessment of April 2024, I was awarded PIP. I was given 4 points on ‘Mixing with People’ and 1-2 points on other Daily Living Activities. So if I was to get the same award when my next review is due in 2026 I might still receive PIP despite the new reforms. It does feel like my next PIP assessment will be on a “knife edge”.
If I do or don’t get PIP again I’m not sure if I will be forced to seek full time work in 2026. I’m sure I will be forced to if I’m not awarded PIP but less sure if the health element is the same as LCWRA where there is a no work requirement. I don’t think I could sustain full time employment without getting unwell and even then I’m not sure who would be willing to employ me. As well as general accommodations for my autism, I would need to still have time off to have my depot anti-psychotic injection every 4 weeks, see probation once a month and have my Lithium blood tests every 3 months plus regular review appointments with mental health services.
If all my benefits including my PIP are stripped of me except the Standard Allowance of UC and the housing element of UC I will have a shortfall between my income and outgoings:
In the above table you can see I have drawn up a rough drastic budget if I had to live on the near absolute minimum amount. Gone are expenses like my counsellor, bus/taxi fares, glasses, dental, clothes any spare money to replace appliances like my phone, microwaves and washing machine plus other helpful extras. Even a phone and internet connection is an essential these days as you need one to access the UC website. Even internet access in a local library costs £2.50 an hour. Recently UC required me to send a picture of myself with my Passport so I can’t see how I can do that without access to a mobile phone. Passports aren’t cheap to get nowadays either.
In the short term I could get by on savings but in the long term I would probably stop buying food and try my best to source it from the food bank.
I don’t know what the future holds for me going forward. It is an extra worry for me as I don’t have a next of kin to bail me out. I think it’s possible I may be able to do some part time work in the future but I would need support with that. The ‘Right to Try’ where you can try to work without losing your disability benefits seems like a positive change in the reforms. However, I think too much pressure from the Job Centre and the cutting off of financial support is setting up people like me to fail. I think many people will end up dead, homeless, in hospital or in prison. Inevitably I could be one of them. I hope the government reconsiders its position.