Changing the system
Parcelforce attendance lead, Murray Goulder, who has debilitating epilepsy, had to fight for a year to get the benefits he was entitled to.
When Murray applied for disability benefit last year, he thought he’d have no trouble being awarded it. Having suffered from epilepsy for many years, his condition meant he was unable to go anywhere alone in case he had a seizure.
Murray couldn’t even travel to and from work or cook a meal for himself because it was too dangerous. He was already on Disability Living Allowance (DLA), so he assumed transferring over to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) wouldn’t be an issue. He was wrong.
Through charities such as Epilepsy Action and his own activism on the subject of hidden disabilities and access to benefits, Murray has done a huge amount of work to highlight the plight of people with epilepsy, who are so often denied government support.
In a recent interview with the Guardian newspaper, Murray spoke about the difficulties many people with epilepsy can face qualifying for benefits such as PIP.
Murray applied for PIP when DLA – worth £174 a month, typically spent on public transport and medication – ended in November 2017.
His application was rejected, but was finally granted this February on appeal: he was awarded £468 a month with £6,608 in back claims. ‘It caused a lot of stress and made me feel like I was a liar,’ he said. ‘It meant I didn’t have enough money for pursuing my hobbies like going to concerts and the theatre.’
Since the article was published, Murray has been contacted by people who have been through the same process, rejected as a result and are now looking for some guidance and support.
Murray was invited to attend a parliamentary group to share with them his own experience. He has now been invited back to Parliament, tomorrow - Tuesday 16 July - to speak at the Disability Benefits Consortium who are due to launch a report called ‘How welfare became unfair: the impact of welfare changes on disabled people.’
‘I work with epilepsy charities outside of work and am currently working to help to change the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) assessment process for those living with hidden disabilities,’ said Murray.
‘I have held debates at Parliament with MPs about the process and the faults within it. My successful tribunal result was in the national media earlier this year after a two-year battle with the DWP with a document spanning more than 100 pages.
‘I have now been asked to share my story in an Epilepsy Action fundraising legacy appeal – discussing work that I have been involved in, including my campaigning work on PIP in highlighting the injustices involved in the system.
‘The current system does not account for several hundred thousand people living in the UK with neurological and mental health conditions. Basically, anyone with a disability, physical or not, is judged on the same piece of paper. So those with neurological or mental health conditions are assessed with physical tests which, in most part, are inappropriate and do not account for the real problems they have.’
Supporting our people
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