HUNDREDS of disabled people in the parliamentary constituency of Ceredigion lost their benefits when they were reassessed for a new government payment, a move which campaigners have called a “scandal”.

The government is gradually replacing Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payment. These benefits help people pay for disability­-related living costs, such as personal carers or mobility aids.

The latest figures show 2,340 were receiving DLA in November 2017, as the old benefit is being phased out.

A further 2,279 people were receiving the Personal Independence Payment.

The transition has been controversial, as figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show 24 per cent of people in Great Britain who received DLA failed to match the new criteria for PIP.

In Ceredigion, 500 people receiving DLA had their benefits stopped when they reapplied for the new scheme between April 2013 and October 2017, 31 per cent of all previous claimants.

The criteria for PIP are stricter, and claims are reassessed on a more regular basis.

The assessment process, which is carried out by private contractors such as Capita, came under fire after a 2017 review revealed that 65 per cent of those who challenged DWP decisions successfully had them overturned in court.

Ken Butler, welfare rights advisor at Disability Rights UK, said: “The government’s stated aim with PIP was to reduce the disability benefit expenditure by 20 per cent, around £1.5 billion a year.

“It was designed to exclude many disabled people from getting help with the extra costs of their disability, including vital help with mobility. That around a quarter of disabled people have lost all their benefit entitlement is a scandal but no surprise.

“Unsurprisingly, many disabled people now have no confidence in the PIP reassessment process."

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