CITY of Liverpool FC picked up a much-needed win against fellow bottom-half dwellers Colne last Tuesday. 

It followed on from a draw at Tadcaster Albion the previous Saturday, giving the team something to build on as they and their supporters travel up the M6 to the outskirts of the Lake District where they face Kendal Town today.

Attendance at the home game against Colne suffered slightly due to Liverpool’s involvement in the FA Cup at Anfield on the same night, but those who did make it to the Berry Street Garage Stadium contributed to much more than just an attendance number.

At every home game, the club organises a collection to help the local community. It helps support a wide range of community issues and causes, including those related to the club’s community and welfare schemes.

This week, the club and its supporters helped out with an issue which has been raised by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), an organisation set up to support disabled people who have been affected by government spending cuts.

“We became involved after Jennifer Jones from DPAC Sheffield did a talk at the Walton Constituency Labour Party monthly meeting,” says City of Liverpool FC volunteer and community activist Gary Walthew.

“After listening, I was very angry at how many obstacles are put in the way of some of the most vulnerable people in our community during their already stressful PIP (Personal Independence Payment) assessments.

“Jennifer explained to us how they fundraised in Sheffield and how they loan out [recording] kits to claimants free of charge on a trust basis. 

“After she finished I contacted club chairman Paul Manning straight away, explaining the campaign, and asked them if we had any spaces for this in the bucket collection we do at each home game.”

The collection went towards funding audio recording kits which those being assessed for PIP can use to keep a record of their face to face assessment.

These kits are required because many claimants’ assessments have not been recorded accurately in the written reports provided by the private contractors who carry them out. This has led to many people not getting the support they need.

The contractors, such as Atos and Capita, will not supply the claimants with the recording equipment they need to keep their own evidence of these meetings, and the Department for Work and Pensions say that modern recording equipment such as mobile phones or dictaphones cannot be used.

They will only accept recordings on PAT-tested analogue cassette equipment, which costs much more than the handy digital alternative.

And as well as the recording machine itself, the claimant also needs the compatible blank cassettes, power cables and leads, so a kit is required.

“Our bucket collection raised £163 which will buy one recording kit for our communities to use during PIP assessments,” added Walthew.

“We are going to donate the kit to a local Citizens Advice. I’m now hoping to work with local councillors, and MP Dan Carden within Walton CLP, to make sure our communities are never without these kits. 

“Hopefully we can come up with a plan to crowdfund for all Citizens Advice centres within our constituency to have a kit.”

These kits are also for claimants’ peace of mind, as they no longer have to worry about their assessment being altered or not taken down fully. 

It also helps them achieve quicker and more accurate decisions, saving weeks and months of worry and ill health caused by lack of support and a lengthy appeals process.

DPAC’s ultimate aim is for PIP assessments to be scrapped, but in the meantime they are calling on the government to introduce legislation that offers a recording facility for all PIP assessments as standard.

Until then, other ways need to be found to make sure claimants have access to the equipment they need, and support from DPAC, from MPs such as Dan Carden and Ian Byrne, and fundraising within communities such as the matchday collection at City of Liverpool, will be vital.