BATTLING heart issues and a crumbling spine that has left her reliant on a mobility scooter, Beryl Davis faces a daily fight to survive on her meagre disability benefits.
But, she says, life in the town dubbed ‘PIP city’ comes with an extra gut-punch – as hard-up pensioners like her watch young, jobless chancers game the UK’s broken welfare system, inspired by so-called TikTok ‘sickfluencers’.
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The troubling scenes in Hartlepool – where in some areas nearly one in four adults claim Personal Independence Payments (PIP) – have created a bitter divide between hard-grifting older folk with genuine illnesses and what they see as work-shy younger generations shamelessly exploiting legal loopholes.
It is a schism that shines a light on a wider debate gripping Britain, where – despite there being many young people legitimately claiming benefits – vulnerable pensioners living on minimal support fear they are being left in the lurch in favour of unscrupulous claimants.
Beryl, 71, reveals: “One person I know claimed it for acne, another for OCD. It’s far too easy to get hold of these days.
“I have a genuine disability. I don’t understand how some people are getting it so easily when people like me have to fight for it.
“I know someone in his twenties, diabetic, and yes, he has some health issues, but he’s just been awarded the full whack and he’s pulling in about £1,600 a month.
“He could work. He chooses not to.”
Famous for its shipyards and steelmaking that were once at the centre of Britain’s industrial revolution, Hartlepool has a proud history built off the back of its tireless work force.
But during The Sun’s visit, fed-up residents say what was meant to be a safety net for those too ill or disabled to work has become a cushion for the lazy, especially among the under-40s.
The northern town, in Co Durham, now has one of the highest rates of disability benefit claimants in the entire country, with 22.3 per cent of working age adults receiving PIP across six of its central wards.
A Sun analysis of official data reveals 6,737 of 30,154 working-age adults here are now receiving the benefit, with more than 2,000 people aged between 16 and 64 claiming PIP for anxiety and depression.
Among them is a 24-year-old who told us, on condition of anonymity, how he used TikTok guides to secure a successful mental health claim.
It comes after we revealed how brazen “sickfluencers” are gaining thousands of followers on social media by explaining how to game PIP application forms and ramp up the scoring criteria.
Shocking recent figures revealed how claims across the UK are at a record high, with 16 to 19-year-olds now making up 16.5 per cent of all PIP cases – up from 14.6 per cent in 2019.
The unemployed lad told us how he used tips posted by one influencer to explain how his ability to carry out tasks was affected by social anxiety – despite not having a formal medical diagnosis.
Stop handouts for minor conditions, says Badenoch
By Ryan Sabey and Noa Hoffman
FACE-TO-FACE welfare claim assessments are needed to stop taxpayers’ money being used to fund cars for people with minor conditions like food intolerances, Kemi Badenoch says.
The Tory leader called for a crackdown — with the health and disability benefits outlay set to spiral to £100billion by the end of the decade.
She wants to stop flagrant abuse of the taxpayer-subsidised Motability scheme, which was designed to provide cars for the disabled — and also to target online “sickinfluencers” who tell claimants what to say in interviews to play the system.
Ms Badenoch said in a speech the number of in-person checks has slipped because of the pandemic, being replaced with cheaper phone interviews.
She said: “Approval rates have soared, and we now have online ‘sickfluencers’ selling people scripts to maximise their scores on an assessment.
“We need to build in proper medical evidence to the system. And go back to face-to-face assessments which never recovered after Covid.
“Food intolerances are a medical fact, but they’re not something we should be handing out new cars for.
“That is not a joke. This actually happens.”
Stats show around £600million went on Motability last year from the Department for Work and Pensions, and 589,000 claimants had cars as of April.
Ms Badenoch said it needed to go as it was a “perfect example” of a welfare system out of control. She said: “People are qualifying with conditions like drug misuse, ADHD and obesity.
“The assessment system surely can’t have been designed with that intention. And we can’t allow it to continue for a moment longer.”
He said: “The TikTok videos basically told me which questions to answer and what to say to have the best chance of being approved.
“I had a phone call from an assessor which basically lasted for 30 minutes and they agreed that I couldn’t work.
“I’m now getting £74 a week.”
Asked if he was genuinely anxious to the point of being unable to work, the youngster said: “I used to work in a supermarket but I found it too much to interact with people. Maybe if there was a job I could do from home, it would be okay.”
He denied gaming the system, despite shopping among crowds in the town centre, “because there’s no jobs around here, anyway”.
PIP hotspot
Across six central wards in Hartlepool, a staggering one in five working-age adults is now on PIP.
For many, the ire is pointed at drug users and street drinkers we saw congregating by a community centre.
One, seen leaving a corner shop, with a carrier bag filled with beer, said he had “mental health” and “was stressed”.
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At a sandwich shop in the town centre, Claire Jarvis, 43, revealed how her husband had not been able to secure PIP despite being diagnosed with prostate cancer and undergoing gruelling radiation therapy.
She said: “I understand that some people genuinely need benefits – I’m not against that. But I think the wrong people are getting the help while people who really need it are being left with nothing.
“My husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year.
“He went through radiotherapy, he still suffers now – he’s got burns all over his back, his bowels are damaged, and he’s had to go to work because he’s scared he’ll lose his job.
“And yet when we applied for PIP, he scored zero on the assessment.
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“Meanwhile, there are people who are playing the system, claiming for mental health or back pain without any proper diagnosis, and they’re getting everything.
“People say there are no jobs but that’s nonsense. If you wanted a job, you could go out and get a job.
“It’s galling to work hard while other people are in the beer garden spending their benefits.”
Mrs Jarvis’ co-worker Charlie Williamson, 26, missed out on support for her five-year-old daughter who has epilepsy.
She told how she comes to work despite suffering from anxiety and the stresses of caring for her young child.
The wrong people are getting the help while people who really need it are being left with nothing.
Claire Jarvis, 43
Ms Williamson said: “I was just in this dark place where I just had no motivation to do anything. I was just getting myself in a dark place.
“I was scared to work because of the anxiety, but then at the same time, I wanted to work.
“I’m glad that I do work. I absolutely see the importance of it and I look forward to it now.”
A Taxpayers Alliance analysis suggested there were 187 PIP claimants for every 1,000 Hartlepool residents, the second highest rate in England behind the Merseyside constituency of Knowsley.
They are among 12 local authorities in England and Wales where the proportion on PIP exceeds one in six.
Anyone with a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability that affects their day-to-day life can get PIP, including adults in full-time employment.
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PIP is split into two parts and claimants can be eligible for both. The daily living part goes to adults needing help with everyday tasks, whereas the mobility part is doled out to those who require assistance getting around.
Applicants are assessed on a points-based system, scoring between zero and 12 depending on how much difficulty they have with basic day-to-day activities – such as preparing and eating food.
At present, anyone who scores between eight and 11 points qualifies for the standard rate of the daily living component, currently worth £73.90 a week.
Those awarded 12 points or more receive the enhanced rate, paying £110.40 a week.
Under existing rules, applicants must reach at least eight points – across any combination of tasks – to receive the lowest level of support.
‘Genuinely needy overlooked’
Paula Spence, 70, was forced to retire aged 55 and has been reliant on PIP since.
She said: “I’ve worked since I was 16 – I was a hairdresser, then later a lollipop lady, which I loved.
“But the cold weather and standing for hours ruined my joints. I was laid off at 55 on medical advice, and I’ve never worked since. I’m on PIP now because I genuinely need it.
“I’ll be honest – there are some people around here who just don’t want to work. Some are lazy. They’re on the dole, they claim PIP for things that don’t stop them working, and it’s wrong. I’m not saying that’s everyone, but it does happen.
“Meanwhile, there are genuine cases where people are really struggling, and they’re the ones being made to jump through hoops.”
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Figures show nearly a third of working-age adults in some parts of England are now claiming PIP, with more than 3.6 million people receiving it as of January – up from just over two million three years ago.
Critics say the spiralling £143billion welfare bill should serve as a wake-up call to ministers after the Government was forced into a U-turn on proposed welfare reforms following pressure from over 120 MPs.
The original plans, designed to save five billion by tightening eligibility for PIP, were shelved.
A spokesperson for the Taxpayers Alliance said: “Many PIP assessments are now done remotely, with as little as two to four per cent of disability assessments happening in person.
“Fewer in-person checks, less scrutiny, and rising appeal success rates suggest a system that’s being outpaced and, in some cases, outmaneuvered.”
