内容摘要：So depending on your point of view, it’s either an optimum or a risky time to make fundamental change.

So depending on your point of view, it’s either an optimum or a risky time to make fundamental change.

"I’d hidden all my clothes at the bottom of my wardrobe. They were covered in blood and DNA, they had been ripped. I handed them all over to the police," she said."The officers said they didn’t have any evidence bags and asked my mum if she had black bin bags to put them in. My mum handed them over, she was just in shock at this point, this wasn’t part of normal life."

A week later, police told the family they had lost Amy’s clothes, which led to her withdrawing her complaints against the gang.The family continued to speak up about their daughter’s abuse by contacting politicians, including the then-Home Secretary David Blunkett. Mr Blunkett denied ever receiving a letter from them.It was not until the family handed all of Amy’s files, including social services documents, police reports and medical records, over to The Times investigative reporter Andrew Norfolk that things started to change.

Mr Norfolk had been investigating child grooming gangs in the north of England and the Midlands for more than a year.In 2012, Amy’s story was the first of several Rotherham case studies to be published in the newspaper - but it took another 12 months for Rotherham Council to commission the independent inquiry into how the council had dealt with child sexual exploitation.

"The Times started things off but the Jay Report was a turning point," said Amy.

Remembering the day the report was made public, Amy said: "I heard the figure 1,400 and the abuse being outlined. I thought, ‘This might be the change, this might be the start of being listened to and being believed’.There are 3.7 million people receiving Pip in England and Wales, with the benefit only available

, with some exceptions.The level of support is based on how high claimants score based on their level of difficulty performing day-to-day activities.

The DWP has said it expects aboutto no longer qualify for the support as a result of the changes to eligibility criteria.