PIP claim: 70 health conditions qualify for extra £156 a week from DWP - full list
Monthly bills are almost £600 higher for people with disabilities, according to research by disability charities.
Personal Independence Payment: Advice on how to claim
Britons with health conditions or disabilities are being encouraged to apply for PIP (Personal Independence Payments) to help with extra living costs associated with their illness. The cost of living crisis, in particular soaring energy bills, is having a devastating affect on Britons who need to use more energy for equipment or to keep warm. Some three million people already claim PIP from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), but thousands could be missing out.
Some 600,000 disabled people in the UK have £10 or less per week to pay for food and other costs, according to the charity Leonard Cheshire.
PIP is paid to people who haven't yet reached state pension age who need help working or carrying out everyday tasks.
How much someone receives depends on how their condition affects them but it could add up to £7,524 over the course of a year.
Just over one in three claimants (35 percent) receive this highest level of the award.
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James Taylor, director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said disabled people are struggling tp pay their energy bills and the £150 cost of living support payment "won't touch the sides".
“Despite the government’s energy price guarantee, this latest increase still means a huge hike in prices for disabled people and their families, up and down the country.
“Energy costs have doubled in a year. We’ve been inundated with calls from disabled people who have cut back everything they can. They’re taking drastic actions like skipping meals, cutting back on washing and turning off fridges, and it’s still not enough.
“The price cap doesn’t cap how much people have to pay on their bills, and this increase will tip many people over the edge. The £150 disability payment won’t touch the sides.
“Life costs more when you’re disabled, but the new government chose to ignore that fact in last week’s budget. We need targeted support for disabled people to get through this crisis. The government should double the disability payment and provide another cost of living payment to those on the lowest incomes.”
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How to claim PIP:
People can claim if they are employed as it's not a means tested benefit.
Poverty charity Turn2Us recommends checking its Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Test guide before claiming PIP.
Applicants are advised to also check out GOV.UK before calling and asking for a claim form as well as 10 other "freebies" they may qualify for.
The DWP says 70 health conitions qualify for PIP:
Epilepsy
- Cataplexy
- Generalised seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Generalised seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Narcolepsy
- Partial seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Partial seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Seizures - unclassified
Non epileptic disturbance of consciousness
- Disturbances of consciousness - Non-epileptic - Other / type not known
- Drop attacks
- Non epileptic Attack disorder (pseudoseizures)
- Stokes Adams attacks (cardiovascular syncope)
- Syncope - Other / type not known
Benign tumours
- Neurofibromatosis
- Tumours - benign - Other / type not known
Cerebrovascular disease
- Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
- Cerebrovascular disease - Other / type not known
- Transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs)
Headache
- Dizziness - cause not specified
- Headache - Other causes of / cause not known
- Migraine
Movement disorders
- Blepharospasm
- Essential tremor - benign
- Huntington's disease
- Movement disorders - Other / type not known
- Parkinson's disease
- Parkinson's syndrome / Parkinsonism
- Torticollis
- Tourette's syndrome
- Writer's cramp
Spinal cord compression
- Paraplegia (traumatic)
- Spinal cord compression - Other causes of / cause not known
- Syringomyelia / Syringobulbia
- Tetraplegia (traumatic)
Degenerative neuronal diseases
- Degenerative neuronal diseases - Other / type not known
- Motor neurone disease
Head injury
- Head injury - Cognitive and sensorimotor impairment
- Head injury - Cognitive impairment
- Head injury - Sensorimotor impairment
Disease of muscle
- Dermatomyositis
- Dystrophia myotonica
- Muscle - Other diseases of / type not known
- Myasthenia gravis
- Polymyositis
Muscular dystrophy
- Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy
- Muscular dystrophy - Becker type
- Muscular dystrophy - Duchenne
- Muscular dystrophy - limb girdle
- Muscular dystrophy - Other / type not known
Infections
- Creutzfeldt - Jacob disease (CJD)
- Infections - Other
- Poliomyelitis and post polio syndrome
- Prion diseases - Other / type not known
Cerebral palsy
- Cerebral palsy - Ataxic
- Cerebral palsy - Athetoid
- Cerebral palsy - Diplegic
- Cerebral palsy - Hemiplegic
- Cerebral palsy - Other / type not known
- Cerebral palsy - Quadriplegic
Ataxia
- Ataxia - Friedrich's
- Ataxias - Other / type not known
Peripheral nerve injury
- Brachial plexus
- Peripheral nerve injury - Other / type not known
Neuropathy
- Charcot Marie Tooth disease
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Guillain Barre syndrome
- Neuropathies - Other / type not known including peripheral
Spina bifida
Hydrocephalus