Research Brief for External Proposals

Research Brief for external proposals

Experiences of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) on people with sensory loss

July 2013

Research Brief

Understanding the impact of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) on people with sensory impairment including those who have other disabilities: A research study to inform policy and practice.

This document provides the brief for research into the impact of PIP (and potentially wider changes in welfare benefits) on people with sensory impairment, including those who have other disabilities. We are inviting research teams to submit proposals against this brief.

Background

In April 2013 the government introduced major changes to the benefit system in the UK including: council tax benefit, housing benefit, local welfare assistance and a cap was put on benefits. From October 2013, working-age benefits and tax credits will be replaced by a new benefit called Universal Credit.

In addition, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64 on 8th April 2013, initially for new claims only. DLA remains in place for children up to the age of 16 and for people over 65 on 8th April.

What is PIP?

The Government maintain that PIP is designed to ‘better reflect today’s understanding of disability’ and to help towards some of the extra costs arising from a health condition or disability. Claimants can receive PIP regardless of whether they are working or not and PIP is not means tested or taxed.

An assessment of individual needs will be made by a health professional based on how a person’s condition affects them, rather than the condition itself. This assessment will most likely be a face-to-face consultation, as part of a person’s claim. Successful claimants will be reviewed intermittently, according to the likelihood of a change in their condition or impairment.

The government’s aim for PIP is to ‘make sure that financial support is targeted at those who face the greatest challenges to living independently’. (A quick guide to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for support organisations; see www.gov.uk/pip).

PIP Implementation Timetable

The DWP is undertaking a managed implementation of PIP according to certain claimant groups(see: April 2013
The new timetable will begin with a pilot from 8th April 2013 for new claims to PIP in the North West and parts of the North East of England. Postcodes affected are:

CA, CH (except CH5, CH6, CH7 and CH8), LA (except LA27, LA28, LA62 and LA63), CW, FY, L, PR, WA, WN, BL, DH, DL (except DL6, DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10 and DL11), M, NE, SR, and TS (except TS9).

From June 2013
From June 2013, all new claims from anyone aged 16-64 will be for PIP instead of DLA throughoutthe whole of Great Britain.

The only exception will be renewal claims from a fixed term DLA award which is due to expire before the end of February 2014, where the renewal claim will still be for DLA rather than PIP.

From October 2013

From October 2013 the following DLA recipients will begin to have to claim PIP:

Children turning 16 will have to claim PIP when their existing fixed term award is coming to an end.

People reporting changes of circumstances that might affect their rate of payment, such as an improvement or deterioration in their condition, but not issues like going into a care home or hospital or changing address.

People with a fixed-term DLA award that expires from the end of February 2014

Anyone who chooses to make an application for PIP, including people who have a fixed-term or indefinite award of DLA.

From October 2015
From October 2015, everyone still getting DLA will have to make a claim for PIP. Claimants will be selected randomly rather than by area or age, although the DWP say that they will “invite claims as early as possible from recipients who have turned 65 after 8 April 2013, when PIP was first introduced.”

By October 2017, all existing DLA claimants aged 16-64 on 8th April 2013 will have been invited to claim PIP. However, the DWP does not now expect to complete the reassessment of all existing DLA claimants for PIP until March 2018.

Financial Circumstances

Citizens Advice published its report ‘Double disadvantage - the barriers and business practices making debt a problem for disabled people’, in June 2011. The research focused on three groups of CAB clients supported by the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) disability project:

People with a physical disability including sensory disabilities
People with learning difficulties
Parents of disabled children.

Findings indicated that the common causes of financial problems for people in these groups were restrictions to work, low incomes, financial exclusion and extra costs related to illness and disability. People also faced additional problems because service providers failed to recognise their needs or make reasonable adjustments in a consistent way, in spite of the requirement under Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 to do so.

A summary paper of key research findings about the economic circumstances of people with a visual impairment, commissioned by Thomas Pocklington Trust in May 2012, indicated that

People of working age with visual impairment are less likely than the general population to be in work and are more likely to be dependent on benefits.
There are extra day-to-day and occasional expenses which people with visual impairment have to meet because of their disability.
Poverty and eye health are linked, and that people with sight loss are very likely to have other long-term health conditions or disabilities.

Impact of changes to DLA and introduction of PIP

There have been some recent studies aimed at examining the changes being made to DLA and the possible effects of the introduction of PIP on disabled people. For example, Demos published a report called ‘Counting the Cost’ (Wood and Grant, 2010) and Scope produced a report backed by a wide range of third sector organisations, entitled ‘The Future of PIP: a social model-based approach’ (Grant 2011).

Findings in the research report ‘The Tipping Point’, produced on behalf of the Hardest Hit Coalition (Kaye, Jordan and Baker 2012) found that the main welfare policy change causing disabled people concern was the abolition of DLA and its replacement with PIP. The research revealed that:

More than three quarters (78 per cent) of disabled people are worried that they won’t qualify forPersonal Independence Payment (PIP)
Eight in ten (84 per cent) disabled people said that without DLA they would be isolated, and would struggle to manage their condition
More than nine out of ten (94 per cent) disabled people felt that losing DLA would have a negative impact on their health (Hardest Hit Research 2012 p. 19)

According to the Department for Work and Pensions 'Disability Living Allowance Reform' Impact Assessment (May 2012), the new benefit is designed to save the Government over £2bn, with an estimated 500,000 disabled people currently on DLA expected to lose this by 2015/16 and not receive PIP in its place.

According to RNIB’s information, there are currently around 45,000 DLA recipients of working age where sight loss is the ‘main disabling condition’. Action on Hearing Lossestimate that there are around 40,000 people with hearing loss receiving DLA, with 4,000 of these receiving it because of their hearing loss. Sense’s figures indicate that the total number of deafblind people of working age

(19 – 70 years) is 33,000. Some of them will already be included in the total given above for sight loss or hearing loss.

The need for new research

A number of studies, such as the research carried out on behalf of the Hardest Hit Campaign (Kaye, Jordan and Baker 2012), have sought to examine the impact of changes in the welfare benefits system on disabled people. However, much of the research was either based on modelling data or was conducted before the implementation of the changes. There is, therefore, a need to explore the impact of PIP on the financial status and standard of living, in both the short and longer term, of people who are disabled.

The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) is a national coalition of over 50 different charities and other organisations that is committed to working towards a fair benefits system. DBC is currently identifying key research questions around the PIP assessment process and an important strand of any new research will be to work in partnership with DBC, including their work on the assessment process for PIP.

Organisations that support and campaign for people affected by sensory impairment want to support new research to explore these areas and gather evidence of impacts. We want to know how PIP entitlements will affect the lives of people who have sensory impairments, including those who have other health conditions.

Aim of research about people affected by sensory impairment

The overall aim of a study would be to investigate, over an agreed time period (such as 18 to 24 months), the impact of PIP on the financial status, standard of living and wellbeing in both the short and longer term, on people (aged 16 to 64 when PIP came into force on 8th April 2013) who have sensory impairments and including people who are:

blind or visually impaired
deaf or hard of hearing
deafblind.

Research objectives

The objectives of the research include the following.

To find out the number of new claimants for PIP with sensory impairments,including those who have other disabilities in the above groups (who are aged 16 to 64 when PIP came into force on 8th April 2013); whether or not they got it, and if not, whether or not an appeal was made and the outcome of the appeal.

To find out how many existing claimants of DLA with sensory impairments, including those who have other disabilities in the above groups(who are aged 16 to 64 when PIP came into force on 8th April 2013), are invited to claim PIP; whether or not they got it, and if not, whether or not an appeal was made

To investigate any differences in benefit receipt before and after PIP was introduced for people who have sensory impairments, including those who have other disabilities in the above groups (aged 16 to 64 when PIP came into force on 8th April 2013).

To find out about the financial status and standard of living of people who have sensory impairments, including those who have other disabilities in the above groups (aged 16 to 64 when PIP came into force on 8th April 2013) before and after the introduction of PIP.

To explore the experiences of making a claim and/or being reassessed for PIP and the impact of this on the wellbeing of people who have sensory impairments, including those who have other disabilities in the above groups (aged 16 to 64 when PIP came into force on 8th April 2013) and those who were unsuccessful in their attempt to claim PIP.

To establish whether there is a need for further research into the impact of changes in welfare benefits on people who have sensory impairments, including those who have other disabilities in the above groups.

3. Partnerships

The study is being funded collaboratively by a small number of national charities that work in partnership with funders and other organisations that support and campaign for people with sensory loss, including people who also have other health conditions. The funders are RNIB, Sense and Thomas Pocklington Trust.

These national charities also have strong links with national coalitions, such as the Disability Benefits Consortium and the UK Disabled People’s Council.

We will set up an advisory group to bring various stakeholders together to inform the study and consider its findings, conclusions and implications.

4. Outputs

The research will provide quantitative and qualitative information that demonstrates any changes between DLA and PIP awards, along with any other benefit changes, and recipients’ perceptions of the impact on their financial status, standard of living and health and wellbeing.

The research will provide in depth case studies that may be used to demonstrate the impact of PIP as well as changes to other benefits.

The research findings will be available to DBC’s work to inform form eligibility criteria and assessment processes for PIP.

We want the research to provide evidence for comment on benefits systems now and in the future. We will therefore seek from the research phased outputs and a final report.

The findings and conclusions of the research might lead to further and separately funded research in this area. We expect the research findings to be presented in a form that may provide a foundation for further research.

5. Resources

An outline budget of £100,000, including VAT where charged and all expenses is available.

Thomas Pocklington Trust is carrying out the administration to commission and manage the research. RNIB and Sense are co-funders and working with Pocklington to commission the research.

6. Submission of proposals

Proposals should be completed in line with the guidance available

on the Pocklington website:

should be submitted by email to Pamela Lacy, Research & Dissemination Manager:

AND5 copies on paper, by the deadline of 5pm on 27 September 2013, to: The Research Administrator, Thomas Pocklington Trust,

Pier House, 90 Strand on the Green, London W4 3NN.

Any questions about this brief or the process for proposals should be addressed to: Pamela Lacy, Research & Dissemination Manager:

References:

A quick guide to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for support organisations, www.gov.uk/pip.

Beatty, C., and Fothergill, S., (2013) Hitting the poorest places hardest: The local and regional impact of welfare reform. TimesScottishParliamentSheffieldHallamUniversity.

Benefits and Work, Department for Work and Pensions' tabulation tool, see: E., (2011) The Future of PIP: a social model-based approach. Scope.

Kaye, A., Jordan., Hand Baker, M.,(2012) The Tipping Point: The human and economic costs of cutting disabled people’s support. Hardest Hit Coalition, p.19.

Stone, M. K., (2012) The economic circumstances of people with a visual impairment. Thomas Pocklington Trust, p.2.

Tutton, P., Finnegan, C., MacDermott, A., Edwards S., and Huzzey, R., (2011) Double disadvantage: The barriers and business practices making debt a problem for disabled people.

Citizens Advice, p.3.

Wood, C., and Grant, E., (2010) Counting the Cost. Demos.