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Press Release

Scope CEO responds to Government decision on the qualifying period for Personal Independence Payment

17 January 2012

As the Welfare Reform Bill continues to be debated in the House of Lords, the Government announces that it has decided not to increase the qualifying period for Personal Independence Payment, the replacement benefit for Disability Living Allowance and has tabled an amendment to this effect.

Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of Scope, reacted to the news:

"We're delighted that the Government has chosen to listen to disabled people's concerns over the qualifying period for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

"It means the Government has recognised that asking disabled people to wait for six months before they can claim much-needed financial support, following the development of a condition or impairment, is unfair and unreasonable.

"However, we continue to have concerns over other aspects of PIP, including the tick-box-style assessment the Government plans to use, which will repeat the same mistakes as the Work Capability Assessment."



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