A woman living with severe mental health conditions and in constant pain said she’s been left “absolutely devastated” by a decision to take away her Motability vehicle after her personal independence payments (PIP) were reduced.
Helena Lovel, 53, from Sheffield, who works as an expert by experience, collaborating with charities and organisations that benefit from her own experience, has been on PIP for 10 years.
She has severe depression and anxiety, as well as physical pain and mobility issues after being involved in several car accidents.
Ms Lovel had been receiving the enhanced rate of PIP for both daily living and mobility, £114.60 and £80 respectively, reduced to £76.70 and £30.30 when a review in 2024 concluded she was no longer eligible for the higher rate of the in-work benefit.
“I’m still on three different anti-depressants, and two of them I’m on the highest dose of, and there hadn’t been any change in any of my conditions or how my conditions affected my life, and yet for some reason they just dropped me down to standard on both, and that meant the removal of my car and obviously a drop in my income,” she told The i Paper.
Without a car, Ms Lovel, who lives in supported accommodation, said she is left to depend on friends and taxis to get around.
“It’s called personal independence payment, and by dropping me from enhanced to standard, they’ve simply taken away my independence,” she said.
Loss of Motability car ‘absolutely devastating’
Not having a car also means she is missing out on spending time with her elderly parents, both in their late seventies.
“It was devastating, absolutely devastating,” she said. “It’s also completely destroyed any kind of social connection with my friends as well.”
Only people in receipt of the higher rate mobility element of PIP are eligible for the Motability scheme, which allows them to exchange their weekly allowance to lease a car.
For Ms Lovel, the vehicle enabled her to visit friends and go swimming regularly, an activity that she credits with having a positive impact on her physical health but her mental health too.
Ms Lovel does not have the financial means to buy or lease a car independently, and said her mental health conditions mean public transport isn’t an option for her as her social anxiety means tasks as simple as going to the supermarket are challenging. She is also unable to walk or stand for very long.
The reduction in PIP has put additional pressure on her budget for basics, and ability to prioritise healthy eating – which is important for managing her type 2 diabetes – and afford heating her home.
“I try and be as frugal as I possibly can. It’s like everybody knows that with me, I will deliberately buy things when they’re on special offer,” she said.
“I get really, really overwhelmed about making sure that I’ve put money on my gas and electric,” she added. “I was really frightened about having to put the heating on, so I bought an Oodie [fleece] just so I didn’t have to put the heating on.”
Ms Lovel said her support worked helped her request a mandatory reconsideration of the decision but the outcome was that the Department of Work and Pensions stood by its decision.
She is now in the process of waiting for a tribunal date, 16 months after her Motability car was returned.
The Government unveiled the changes last year in a bit to reduce the benefits bill by £5bn a year by 2030. Spending on benefits is set to increase from £65bn a year to £100bn by 2029.
A recent report by former health secretary, Alan Milburn, found nearly the combined share of anxiety or depression, autism and ADHD reported as the primary condition for 16- to 24-year-olds claiming PIP has risen from 49 per cent in January 2020 to 64 per cent by January 2026.
Prospect of further PIP crackdown ‘very frightening’
Ms Lovel said the experience has had a negative impact on her mental health and she is not alone.
A recent report by charity Rethink Mental Illness has warned the PIP system traps people with mental illness in a “vicious cycle” of recovery and relapse.
It showed claimants experienced a confusing and burdensome administrative process and long delays which exacerbated financial insecurity and mental distress.
The charity, which published the report as a review led by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms set to bring changes to PIP is under way, warned against tightening eligibility, introducing voucher-based schemes, or tying financial support to work, which could make PIP less flexible and even harder to access.
Ms Lovel said the prospect of a further crackdown on PIP claimants is “very frightening”.
“It’s as if they’ve taken empathy off the table and all rationale. It’s like, ‘how can we reduce this bill?’, without thinking of the impact it’s having on real lives.”
Mark Winstanley, chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, said: “Our report makes clear, the system is frustrating, inconsistent and distressing for people living with mental illness, causing harm when it should be keeping them safe.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “We’re fixing the broken system we inherited by creating a welfare state that works for disabled people and taxpayers and have launched the Timms Review – which will publish its interim report shortly – to make sure PIP is fit and fair for the future.”
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