DWP demands dad repays £36,000 PIP after being seen playing cricket | UK | News
A one-legged man whose disability benefits were withdrawn after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) filmed him playing cricket for his local team has been told to repay £36,000 to the government. Shaun Rigby, 37, lost his leg below the knee in a tractor accident when he was just two years old and started this sport as a seven-year-old.
He played twice a week for Allscott Heath CC in Shropshire, assisted by a runner and a referee on crutches. The sheet metal worker, from Telford, Shropshire, has been receiving personal independence payment (PIP) since 2016 and was given a Motability car three years ago.
However, the married father of four, who previously played for the England disabled cricket team, was shocked to learn that the DWP had launched an investigation into his disability claim. Investigators filmed him and used it as evidence to take away his car and stop his benefits of around £500 a month.
The DWP has now demanded he pay back £36,000 after finding his “daily needs” did not require a car or enhanced PIP payments.
“I got a letter this morning,” Shaun said on Friday, November 28th. “They said my daily needs were not what I said they were and that I would have to pay back £36,000.”
He said the letter followed an outcry after Shaun was discreetly interviewed in August last year. He says that although Shaun’s mobility problems have worsened over the years, the DWP decided he did not need the subsidized car and should pay the money back.
Shaun, who relies on daily painkillers prescribed by his GP to manage his persistent pain, explained that he faced a choice between waiting 18 months for a court hearing or finding funds to repay the DWP.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said. “I think I will have to work harder to pay off my debt. This situation has been going on since August last year and stress does not help me at all.
“I’m not sure if I want to keep fighting this. A friend of mine went to court and it took over 18 months.
“After they took the car off me, my mom and sister got together and have since bought me a car so I can get around. Without a car, I wouldn’t be able to work.”
He described the DWP’s decision as “unfair” and stressed that people with much less severe conditions were allowed to use Motability vehicles. Earlier this year Shaun stressed that he had never hidden his involvement with the England disabled team, explaining that his cricket participation did not indicate that he was not disabled or did not need a vehicle.
He said: “I have been working since I left school and have been playing cricket since I was seven, but the things I can do now are much less than 15 to 20 years ago because I have deteriorated quite a bit. “I use co-codamol, amitriptyline and naproxen prescribed by my GP and take these in moderation every day to relieve pain and continue my work.
“On a cricket day, I take more medication in the morning to help me through the day and make the pain more bearable. “I’m still in pain but I felt that some form of activity and interaction with my friends was good for my own health.
“On my bad days, I would be playing cricket with a runner when I was batting and I would be in positions where my movement on the field was limited and the umpire would hold crutches for me if necessary. “The days after playing cricket were pretty bad but I played for the social side of things and my attitude to life was to try to do the things I enjoyed while I still could.
“But they said I shouldn’t have these because I play cricket; they have footage of me playing, but just because I play cricket doesn’t mean my leg has grown back. I still need help getting around.”
A DWP spokesman said the decision had been reviewed by an independent tribunal and supported the original decision.
They added: “Following Mr Rigby’s appeal, an independent tribunal accepted the DWP’s decision. Personal Independence Payments are awarded based on how a condition affects a person’s day-to-day needs, rather than the condition itself.”
