East Sussex charity faces rise in PIP enquiries

A charity supporting people in East Sussex says they have seen a huge increase in the number of people needing support with Personal Independence Payments.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit designed to help with extra living costs if people have a long-term health condition, a disability or find doing everyday tasks difficult.

HARC – Hastings Advice and Representation Centre – is a registered charity providing specialist welfare benefit guidance to people of all ages in East Sussex. It is part-funded by British Gas Energy Trust.

In the last year alone, the team have fielded almost 10,000 calls, emails and enquiries specifically about PIP – a 17% increase on the previous year.

Mark Webb, Specialist Advisor at HARC, says the charity often sees spikes in demand for support around PIP – and other benefits – after governmental announcements or segments on TV shows like The Martin Lewis Money Show.

Mark said: “Many of our clients are vulnerable or have long term medical conditions so media coverage about proposed changes often affects them negatively including causing stress and anxiety about their future particularly in relation to financial implications or being forced down a path they don’t want to take.

“We provide a casework service which includes making applications, providing benefit checks, better off calculations, challenging decisions, making complaints and so on.

“Advisors are asked everything and anything about PIP; some are straightforward, many are not. The questions we are asked can range from requesting contact details for the Department for Work and Pensions, how to claim PIP through to complex legal questions. Casework can range from helping clients to make claims through to challenging decisions and representing people with specialist benefit appeals.

“Often a holistic approach is needed to support clients to access external organisations that HARC works alongside or can refer to. This can be to gain access to things like charitable funds, food and fuel assistance, social services, debt advice, housing advice, the domestic violence portal and the probation service.

“The British Gas Energy Trust funded project is a prime example where HARC and Energise Sussex Coast work closely providing clients with a holistic service about our different expertise in benefit and energy matters.”

The HARC team recently met with local MP, Helena Dollimore, to discuss the rise in PIP enquiries and raised concerns about the wider benefits system. They will also be responding officially to the government’s ‘Pathways to Work’ green paper which outlines plans for benefit reform.

While the team are still working on their detailed response, HARC believes the reforms could lead to more people claiming PIP, not fewer. They believe that the plans are likely to lead to more people appealing their outcomes and will raise concerns about the likelihood of the government relying on third sector organisations to pick up the pieces.

Mark added: “For people already struggling financially, we firmly believe any loss of benefit income will amplify the effects of the financial crisis.

“The consequences are financial and will impact on people’s wellbeing. We expect more people to approach HARC and Energise Sussex Coast for support and assistance because they are less able to meet their basic essential needs such as properly feeding themselves and keeping warm. This is likely to lead to more people requesting food and fuel vouchers.”

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