To: Oliver Letwin

Don't Cut Vital Support For Disabled People In West Dorset

Oppose the planned cuts to Personal Independence Payments.

Why is this important?

George Osborne has announced plans to take £70 a week away from many thousands of people with disabilities, by cutting Personal Independence Payments (PIP). For many of us, this will mean losing the crucial support which enables us to get out of the house.
Entitlement to the Personal Independence Payment, which has replaced Disability Living Allowance, is assessed using a completely different set of criteria. Whereas entitlement to DLA was based on whether you needed help looking after yourself, or had mobility difficulties, entitlement to PIP is not. It is based on your ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE FULLY IN SOCIETY RATHER THAN THE SEVERITY OF IMPAIRMENT. This is a fundamental shift away from being supported financially because you are so disabled that you need a great deal of help with daily living. Now, because working is the ONLY way in which the Government considers you to be fully participating in society, you are virtually unable to get any financial support whatsoever. The severity of your disabilities, and being able to pay for essential help you need in order for you to remain at home, are both considered irrelevant.
Many people in our area would be hit hard by this cut. This petition calls on our local MP, Oliver Lewin, (who voted in favour of the cut) to do all they can to stop this cruel and unfair plan.

Please, show your support for local people with disabilities and help stop the cuts to PIP.