It seems like forever since our attempt to get a judicial review over PIP and the fraudulent consultation. Well, that attempt has come to fruition at last. The case against the DWP will be heard in Birmingham on the 9th and 10th of July.
This specific case is about the decision to slash support from those who can walk less than fifty metres, to only those who can walk less than twenty. The drastic reduction in the eligible distance means that some 500,000 people will be left without support even though they can walk less than 50m without some kind of assistance. This change has been made purely to cut costs, as was admitted by the DWP in their response when we forced them to re-open their consultation.
It has actually been quite difficult to bring a case against an opponent that can change the rules to suit its own agenda however the court has agreed to hear arguments surrounding the consultation and the fact that the DWP did not mention the slashing of support until after the consultation was complete.
I will provide more details here on the specific arguments we will make as soon as I can clear them with my solicitor.
Related blog posts
PIP 20 metre rule consultation response: “We’re not listening.”
Victory! DWP to launch PIP mobility consultation
PIP Judicial Review given the go ahead
Announcement: legal action against the DWP over the #PIP consultation
If you can only walk twenty metres you’ll get no help
Replacement of disability living allowance headline news for hours
I wait with bated breath this decision as well - both my husband and myself are disabled and we have a motability car. If they take away the support then we will be housebound.
A friend of mine will also lose her car and will have to give up her job as she can walk up to 35m but she still wouldn’t qualify as she does now. She’s worked so hard to get to a really good stage in her career and that would all go down the drain by slashing the 50m rule.
They’d save lots of money if they collected all the taxes that are owed from so many companies and corporations.