Latest news with #KattyKingCoulling
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
'Don't use us as a piggy bank', Maidenhead Pip claimant says
A mother with a spinal condition has said she is worried a government U-turn on personal independence payment (Pip) rules is only King-Coulling, 39, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, has been diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome, where nerve damage can lead to loss of mobility as well as bowel or bladder said the government had planned to use Pip claimants as a "piggy bank" and might still cut her benefits in the the proposals, ministers have pointed to steep rises in the numbers claiming benefits. On Tuesday, the government won a vote on its benefits bill after offering a last-minute concession to Labour said it would not change Pip rules until after the Timms review, which is due to report in autumn King-Coulling said she previously lost her Pip mobility payment after an assessment, but it was later restored at the higher said: "With Pip, I get a total of £603 [per month]. I get the standard daily living and I get the enhanced mobility."The enhanced mobility side of it is going towards a new car, which is a lot higher, which will help me get in and out."To have that removed or changed or abolished altogether, we wouldn't be able to manage."I wouldn't be able to take little one to nursery... I think it would affect my mental health even more."I think it's just absolutely disgusting. Don't use us as a piggy bank. This wasn't about reforming the welfare at all, this was about cuts. "Yes they've put it off for now until 2026, the Timms review. But then what happens after that?"The government has previously said the current set-up left people dependent on welfare, without giving them proper help to find also said making changes was the only way to ensure the system remained sustainable in the future. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook and X.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Disabled Maidenhead mum 'on the breadline' after benefits cut
A mum with a spinal condition has said she's worried more disabled people will "slip through the net" due to planned government changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP).Katty King-Coulling from Maidenhead started to experience cauda equina syndrome, a rare condition which leads to compression of the lower spinal eligibility criteria for PIP will be tightened from November 2026 under new plans announced by the government in Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said all assessments are conducted "rigorously" but admitted the process needs modernising. Following her most recent assessment Mrs King-Coulling, 39, was downgraded to the daily living standard rate of £320 a month and lost her mobility changes mean that she will miss out on a monthly mobility payment of £ had been working as a healthcare assistant for the NHS in 2018 when she first started to experience cauda emergency surgery and rehabilitation that included physiotherapy she was left with bladder incontinence and chronic pain that limits her mobilityMrs King-Coulling said: "A bad day for me is not being able to get out of the bed. Being in agony. It feels like my pelvis is being snapped in half, if you imagine a wishbone. Although this pain is constantly in the background it varies at different levels.""My fear is that for the changes they will make will let further people with disabilities slip through the net. I don't want to see further incidents where people have taken their own lives because they have not been listened to, they've just been dismissed.""For those who go: You should be able to get up and work, unless you're a vegetable you should be working. It's not that I don't want to work, I'm trying to contribute, it's whether or not the working environment wants to employ me."In response the DWP said "All PIP assessments are conducted rigorously and are independently audited to ensure claimants are receiving the same high-quality service."But we recognise the assessment needs modernising so it's fit for the future. This is why we are launching a review of the PIP assessment that will bring together a range of experts and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
