A woman who helps people claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has criticised the government over plans to overhaul the disability benefit, after a report suggested one in six claimants do not face extra costs because of their conditions.
The report, published on Thursday (October 15), proposes changes to the system that would mean one in six people would no longer be eligible for cash payments. It says this would save up to £4.4 billion a year.
Sara Middleton, 47, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, who has gained a following on TikTok by helping people understand the welfare system, disputes the report's findings. The mother is calling for PIP reform, saying it "shouldn't be humiliating, degrading, invasive, and traumatising, like it currently is".
Report criticised over lack of detail
She said: "These kinds of things, they never tell the truth. Our community, the community of disabled people, neurodivergent, people with learning difficulties, we're not a typical community. Everyone's battle is unique and different."
"They've surveyed 2,500 people with absolutely no information about who those people are. It doesn't say anything about who they are, their living situation, whether they have learning difficulties which means they aren't sure of the additional costs, whether they live with parents. ... it doesn't tell us anything."
Sara was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder, aged 17. She was later also diagnosed with spinal issues caused by nerve compression, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety and costochondritis, an inflammation of the chest.
Disabled community 'scapegoated'
The mother says she feels the disabled community is being made a scapegoat in the media.
She said: "For all this scapegoating going on in the media, it really surprises me that they pick on PIP. We're the smallest part of the welfare bill but we're the scapegoats. And the constant divisive coverage of PIP is actually making conditions like anxiety worse."
"I'd love to show people the kind of messages I get on a daily basis of people panicking, melting down, saying 'I'm so scared, I'm getting my review next month'. They're scared stupid. These people are absolutely petrified. You're talking about a decision that could take away their lifeline."
When Sara first set up her Instagram account last year, she received around ten messages a week asking for advice. She says she has now had 75 in the past two days.
Calls for reform to benefit and NHS
"To be honest, my perspective is that PIP needs reforming," Sara said. "It really does. It needs changing to be more relevant to people and their needs. It shouldn't be humiliating, degrading, invasive, and traumatising, like it currently is."
Sara, a motor finance administrator who also receives £749 per month in PIP, says that if her PIP were taken away, there is a chance she could no longer work.
She said: "I've had my condition since I was 17 years old, and things have changed dramatically recently. My spine is collapsing in my neck, which will impinge on my spinal cord and eventually, I won't be able to walk."
Sara says her PIP pays for the extra things that allow her to work, such as appointments and medication. She added: "If you take that away from so many people who work, they'll become completely burned out and then they won't be able to work. Then, they'll go to universal credit."
The mother also argues that reform needs to start with the NHS, because early intervention can prevent issues from escalating.
She said: "We are not the problem, we are the end result of a broken NHS service, because they've cut funding for decades now. We can't get an early intervention to help us get on top of things, so nine times out of ten we're told we just have to live with it."
