Petition calls for DWP to end PIP and ESA award reviews for people living with long-term illness

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A petition calling for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to end benefit award reviews for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) claimants with long-term illnesses has reached nearly 30,000 signatures.

Posted on the official Petitions Parliament website by John H Paternoster, the ‘End reviews of PIP and ESA awards for people with lifelong illnesses’, is set to close on Friday, January 28 - some 70,000 signatures short of the 100,000 needed which would see the topic considered for debate in Parliament.

The petition statement reads: “People with a lifelong illness should not be subject to regular reviews for eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

People suffering lifelong conditions should not have to prove they are still ill every couple of years.”Mr Paternoster continues: “I and others like myself have been awarded PIP and ESA for lifelong illnesses yet have to be subjected to reviews for both benefits even though these conditions are for life!“These reviews mean that people like myself are subject to repeated interviews with people who often have no idea about the conditions we suffer from, and in many case, the stress of these reviews causes a flare up and worsens the condition.“These reviews are unnecessary and need to stop!”The petition has 20,908 signatures and received a UK Government response in September 2021, when it reached 10,000 votes of support.The DWP responded: "We understand there are people with severe and lifelong health conditions which will not improve and want to test a simplified process which doesn’t require them to undertake a health assessment.“The Department for Work and Pensions uses