WHEN Whitney Ainscough took supply of a brand-new SUV with a panoramic sunroof, she went on-line to brag that she had paid for the £80,000 motor utilizing illness advantages.
Utilizing the hashtag for Private Independence Funds (PIP) – meant for folks with long-term bodily or psychological well being situations – the mum-of-three gloated: “I simply need to say a giant thanks to all of the those that go to work and pay tax to pay for my automobile for me.
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“It’s a panoramic roof, not a mushy prime, by the way in which, so don’t get it blended up. Panoramic is a lot better. Thanks a lot, I admire my automobile, heaps.”
Whitney’s April 2023 TikTok submit despatched those that seen it right into a rage.
One viewer replied: “I labored all my life and now I’m disabled however I’d nonetheless by no means disrespect the those that go work ‘trigger I used to be one. Shameful submit, I’d love to have the ability to work.”
One other posted: “No dignity, delight, or self respect. You suppose you’re successful however you are truly dropping. No life expertise.”
A 3rd claimed he would report Whitney to the Authorities, saying: “That is getting proven to HMRC.”
However Whitney repeatedly blogged about her earnings from advantages that 12 months – generally providing tips about how others might make claims.
Her movies emerged as The Solar probes the rise of so-called ‘sickfluencers,’ women and men who rack up tens of 1000’s of followers by running a blog about claiming advantages supposed for folks with long-term, severe situations.
Between her common posts on claiming ‘free’ money from the state, Whitney flaunts her unique breaks overseas – together with one to Zante, which she beforehand mentioned value £8,000.
Private Independence Funds (PIP) provide monetary assist for folks with a variety of situations together with melancholy, nervousness and ADHD.
They provide assist with further dwelling prices and might be claimed by people who find themselves out of labor and people with jobs however who need assistance getting round or with on a regular basis duties.
And whereas nearly all of these claiming PIP will probably be genuinely in want of assist, there may be concern that others are studying learn how to sport the system.
Consultants warn that our spiralling sick word tradition has fuelled a surge in claims, with £48billion paid out to folks for a variety of disabilities and psychological well being points in 2023.
This can be a £12billion rise on the £36billion handed out in illness advantages earlier than the pandemic.
And the invoice is predicted to sap £100billion a 12 months from the general public purse by the top of the last decade if present developments proceed.
Contacted by The Solar, Whitney, 31, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, insisted she by no means acquired PIP, regardless of numerous posts about claiming advantages on social media.
She says she now makes £60,000 a month promoting legit business merchandise via her varied social media accounts and there may be nothing to counsel she has finished something unlawful.
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Key phrase suggestions
Our investigation discovered that quite a few influencers have gained large on-line followings by providing recommendation on learn how to make illness advantages claims.
The information given out embrace utilizing key phrases resembling “psychological misery” to ramp up the scoring standards and show you want monetary assist.
Sickfluencers additionally present learn how to keep away from “trick” questions because the claimant navigates the varied checks. A type of to have supplied recommendation is Chantelle Knight, who beforehand offered PIP “hacks” to her 100,000 followers.
Her TikTok video tutorials, posted on her neurodiverselife2 account, provide steering on learn how to apply for PIP if an individual has Consideration Deficit Hyperactivity Dysfunction (ADHD) or autism.
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And whereas lots of her followers will genuinely want assist, Chantelle says she stopped providing the recommendation when too many others jumped on the bandwagon.
She instructed The Solar: “A couple of 12 months and half in the past, I used to offer out data to folks with ADHD and autism and on the time, nobody was actually doing that.
“However after some time so many accounts emerged that I finished as a result of it simply turned a saturated business and it was utterly out-of-control.
“I’ve seen some actually dangerous accounts over time – and within the final 12 months particularly – that basically shouldn’t be up.
I might say, ‘I’m getting this a lot sick cash,’ and it winds folks up and brings extra traction
Whitney Ainscough
“They’re pushing the thought which you could obtain advantages if in case you have a incapacity.
“The one factor we have to keep in mind is that having a incapacity will not be a proper of passage to a profit. It’s proof based mostly.
“I solely gave recommendation on PIP so folks might get assist if they’re entitled to it. I’ve spoken to individuals who say, ‘I’ve simply been identified with this, can I get some cash?’
“Effectively, not essentially, as a result of it’s how the incapacity impacts you. You’re solely entitled to advantages for those who want assist.”
Melancholy ‘template’
Liz Jones makes use of the title “Pip angel” on her social media accounts as she presents recommendation that features PDF guides on learn how to apply for the profit.
She offers her 67,000 followers suggestions together with “instance solutions for melancholy,” which candidates can copy.
In a single video she pledges to “present a template that may enhance your possibilities to win PIP the primary time each time.”
She does warn that “all the knowledge you embrace must be supported together with your medical and high quality proof.”
Nevertheless, a social media consumer wrote in response: “That is disgusting. [You are] educating people as to learn how to rip off the taxpayer. It’s all the way down to folks such as you [that] profit clampdowns happen for real people who want illness profit.”
Charity employee Liz, 45, instructed us: “I’ve had quite a lot of abuse on-line from folks saying I’m making the system worse.
“I’ve been referred to as all of the names you’ll be able to consider and I’m instructed I’m lazy and workshy and on advantages road, however nothing might be farther from the reality.
“Figuring out the system and the way it works, I don’t consider somebody might put in a faux declare based mostly on my content material and that’s since you are required to offer real medical proof from the folks concerned in your care.
“My content material is aimed toward folks which are remoted with out household assist and don’t have a clue what they’re doing. They obtain the shape via the submit and don’t know learn how to apply for PIP.”
Tens of millions off sick
Our report comes as the most recent stats present a report 2.8 million Brits are already off work via long-term illness.
Spending on illness advantages is projected to hit £100billion by 2028 if present developments proceed – double the expenditure pre-Covid.
Greater than 15,000 folks per week are permitted for long-term illness and incapacity funds.
Critics argue that sickfluencers are serving to folks sport the system and are normalising worklessness.
A whistleblower on the Division of Work and Pensions (DWP) instructed a Dispatches TV crew that she typically suspected that claimants had been mendacity on their functions.
Talking on Channel 4’s Britain’s Advantages Scandal documentary final 12 months, the previous nurse assessor mentioned: “If at any level somebody mentioned that they had been suicidal day by day, it’s right away in that prime Fabulous. It’s all the way down to the integrity of that individual.”
Sicknote Britain
The Workplace of Nationwide Statistics lately revealed 2.8million Brits between 16 and 64 are economically inactive long run illness.
In April 2024, 4.2million working-age folks in Nice Britain had been claiming health-related advantages, based on the Institute of Fiscal Research. That is about 10.2 per cent of the working-age inhabitants.
That quantity might rise to five.4 million (12.4 per cent) by 2028–29, an increase of greater than 2million since 2019–20.
The 4.8million determine compares to three.2 million (7.9 per cent) in 2019.
Earlier than the pandemic, each incapacity advantages and incapacity advantages noticed about 20,000 new claims monthly. By November 2022, that had risen to 51,000 and 43,000 respectively.
Spending on well being associated advantages for working-age folks rose by £12.8billion to £48.3billion between 2020 and 2024.
The Authorities estimates that the invoice for incapacity associated advantages is ready to rise to over £100billion by 2030.
She added that fraudulent claims “nearly discredit these which are truly actually in want. So it’s laborious.”
Former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith is asking on the Authorities to crack down on these making fraudulent claims.
He mentioned: “If you happen to depart a weak spot in a system and also you don’t tighten it up, then folks will exploit it. And incapacity and illness advantages are two of essentially the most defrauded advantages, significantly illness advantages.
“The fact is that, within the web age, any weaknesses within the system are instantly uncovered after which dedicated by those who need to commit the identical falsehood.
“It’s turn into extra of a problem in consequence, which is why the crackdown must be actually clear.
“If you happen to get on to the web, you will notice folks explaining how one can make claims and get around the checks and even now they need to reduce what checks there are.
“However the reply is to get these folks into work.
“You could open the door to work far more so they arrive off advantages progressively – and significantly illness profit as the important thing long-term answer is getting them into work – which is nice for them as a lot because it saves cash for the exchequer.”
Joanna Marchong, investigations marketing campaign supervisor on the TaxPayers’ Alliance mentioned: “Taxpayers will really feel sick on the sight of dangerous actors abusing a system designed to assist essentially the most susceptible in society.
“Sickfluencers are enabling the expansion of an already intensive sick word tradition which is inflicting thousands and thousands of individuals to be left rotting away of their beds.
“The federal government must ensure that they solely shield those who really need assistance relatively than these in search of a fairly penny.”
