People with MS lose more than £6m of benefits a year after PIP is introduced, show figures

A third of MS sufferers who previously received the highest rate of Disability Living Allowance have had their payments downgraded since 2013.

Thousands of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) have lost millions of pounds in benefits since disability benefits system was changed four years ago, new figures show.

More than £6m a year has been taken away from people with the condition since the introduction of Personal Independent Payment (PIP), as despite previously qualifying for the highest rates of government support, sufferers have been told they are no longer eligible for it, according to responses to a Freedom of Information request by charity MS Society.

The figures show that almost one in three people – or 2,600 – who received the highest rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, which PIP has replaced, had their payments downgraded after being reassessed in the three years up to October 2016.  Read on.