I have arthritis, incontinence and other chronic health conditions. The DWP didn’t think I needed PIP

This government’s attempt to cut disability benefits shows that politicians think “all disabled people are abusing the system”, one claimant has told Big Issue.

Labour ministers were forced to backtrack on the ill-fated Universal Credit and Personal Independence Bill earlier this year after a substantial rebellion from backbenchers over cuts to the personal independence payment (PIP).

PIP is used to cover the extra costs that come with having a disability or long-term illness. It uses a points system to assess a person’s individual needs, looking at the support they need for their mobility and daily living tasks.

Changes to the assessment process would have seen hundreds of thousands of disabled people no longer qualify for the benefit until a much watered-down version of the bill eventually passed. Changes to PIP paused until a substantial review is carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in collaboration with disability organisations.

But for Ron Farrington, 65, from Liverpool, who first applied for the benefit five years ago, the political saga was the latest step in a difficult history with the DWP.

He said the application and assessment process to obtain the benefit was “very hard”. If the government’s proposals to cut PIP for some applicants do eventually go through, he fears he will struggle to go out, go shopping and attend medical appointments.

Read more:

• I’ve had to appeal every single one of my PIP claims – the system is in dire need of improvement
• ‘Getting benefits eased pressure on my family’: £9.6bn of universal credit went unclaimed in the last 12 months
• Five key things you need to know about PIP

“Applying for PIP for the first time was very hard; it had to eventually go to tribunal,” Farrington told the Big Issue. “I sent all the forms and any documentation and was refused, then at tribunal I was awarded standard care and high mobility, but this all took nearly a year from first applying.”

Farrington has numerous health conditions that impact his life, including acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, inner-ear balance problems, partial hearing in both ears, arthritis, depression, anxiety, tinnitus, acute migraines and incontinence. He is also awaiting a partial lung removal.

“I suffered all these when I attended the PIP medical assessment, but they still didn’t think I was deemed any points for them,” he explained.

He added that his “mobility is limited” and he has trouble standing, walking and breathing, which he explains have worsened since his original PIP application and tribunal.

Farrington explained that despite his conditions, he was not awarded any PIP when he first applied. He went to a tribunal to reconsider his results, after which he was awarded the standard daily living amount of PIP and the enhanced mobility component. He received his PIP and backdated money after he attended a tribunal. Now, with his upcoming PIP review, his conditions have “only gotten worse” – but he still “worries” about the response he’ll receive.

“The process of having a face-to-face with a so-called medical examiner for the PIP was degrading,” Farrington claimed. “I suffer incontinence, and while at the medical exam, I lost control of my bladder and soaked myself and the chair I was sitting on. Even though the examiner cut the medical exam short, I still got no points for that section of the form.

“Having to explain all my medical and psychological problems to someone who can’t have been trained in most of the problems was infuriating, as they don’t say what experience they have with medical and psychological problems.”

The Labour government introduced proposals in March 2025 to change who may be eligible to receive PIP, which could have meant 1.3 million people with disabilities and long-term conditions missing out on their benefits. The changes would have included updates to the “points” system in assessments, meaning a person’s disability or condition would have to affect them more severely in aspects of their everyday life in order to qualify for PIP.

Farrington explained that he is “unsure” how any potential changes will affect him, as he did not score four points in any single section of the medical assessment, which would have been required as part of the government’s new proposals. The government had previously confirmed that the changes would only apply to new claimants, not existing ones.

He explained that if Labour’s proposals were to go ahead and if he was affected by the changes, he would potentially lose up to £300 per month, which would “affect the living I do now”. He explained that he uses PIP to buy specialised food for stomach issues, clothing and products for incontinence, and mobility aids.

“If I lose the award, then I won’t go out as I need to do simple everyday things, like going shopping and to appointments,” he explained. “I can honestly say if I lose my PIP, I wouldn’t want to carry on. Life’s hard enough, but being told one year I need such-and-such to live on, and then another year taking that support away affects not only my health, but my mental health.”

PIP is an ‘invasive’ thing to apply for

Farrington explained that in his experience, PIP was an “invasive” benefit to apply for, and he suggested that instead of making changes or cuts in order to encourage disabled people into work, the government should invest in schemes to help people into accessible jobs.

“As a disabled person, I was found work by the company Remploy, which finds jobs suitable for disabled people – but a few years ago the government removed its funding, so every disabled person lost work opportunities,” he explained. “Yet now the government want to push disabled people into work that’s suitable, and these jobs are not available… no explanation where these thousands, if not millions of jobs for disabled people are.”

Farrington claimed that the PIP system is “very complicated and set out to confuse. It’s a grey, invasive thing to apply for, and so is the medical assessment”, and that “the government seems to be treating all disabled [people] the same as the ones abusing the system”.

“They should not be persecuting the disabled just to save money, we deserve to be able to live as non-disabled people do, we all would give up any money to be well, fit – and not just deemed fit by these so-called medical professionals at the PIP medical reviews,” he said, adding that he understands the PIP system “needs to change, but they are targeting the wrong people”.

“Everyone will be affected by the changes as they keep moving the goalposts,” he said. “I have a severe lung condition, this won’t ever get better, it will either stay the same or get worse, same with my hearing and balance, but we still have to fill in more forms, go to more assessments, more medical assessments, to prove we haven’t miraculously been cured.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We are reforming the welfare system so it will always be there for those who need it. This is why we have announced a ministerial review of the PIP assessment process.”

“It will be co-produced by disabled people and the organisations that represent them, and we will only take forward any changes to PIP once the review finishes.”

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