You’ll be aware that one of the big sticks that the Tory government use on a regular basis against disabled people on PIP is that we are all fraudulent scroungers.
However, DWP figures, released just days before Rishi Sunak called a general election, showed that overpayment of personal independence payment (PIP) due to fraud had dropped to Zero per cent, a fall from 0.2 per cent the previous year.
The figures were released just a month after Sunak said in a speech – in which he announced cuts to PIP spending and other social security reforms – that he worried about PIP being “misused” and wanted to make it “harder to exploit”.
These comments, and others made by Sunak, including calling for an end to what he called a “sicknote culture”, led to him being accused of whipping up hostility towards disabled people, and demonising and scapegoating claimants of disability benefits.
Asked about the figures, a DWP spokesperson said:
“I have checked – the stats are correct, with PIP overpayments due to fraud at 0.0 per cent.”
I rest my case!
Read the full story by Editor John Pring in Disability News Service.
Description of cartoon for those using screen reading software
Rishi Sunak is seen holding a speech that indicates that disabled benefits claimants are to blame. He is also saying into a microphone: “So, vote for me and I’ll come down hard on PIP fraud!” Alongside of him is a civil servant who is pointing at a PIP Fraud Monitor that is registering at zero. He is saying: “Er … Sir!” On the floor at his feet is a copy of the Disability News Service with the headline ‘PIP fraud drops to zero!’.
Crippen Cartoons 