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More details on the billions in welfare cuts Labour plans to make have been revealed as reports indicate ministers are looking to shave £5 billion from a disability benefit claimed by 3.6 million people.
Reforms to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are now widely expected, with Labour MPs understood to be divided on the cost-cutting policy package. The payment is designed to help people with extra costs incurred by their disability, whether they are working or not.
The changes will include making it harder to qualify for PIP, likely by changing the descriptors assessors used to determine if an applicant is eligible for the benefit.
Further savings are also to be made by freezing PIP payments next year, ITV reports, meaning they will not rise with inflation as in previous years.
A report from the influential right-wing Policy Exchange think tank also gives a possible idea of what can be expected, after a former senior special adviser to the prime minister penned his recommendations to make ‘major reforms’ to PIP.
Jean-Andre Prager began his career as a policy advisor for the Conservatives, and became a special advisor to the prime minister in 2018. This means he advised Theresa May and Boris Johnson before being promoted to a senior adviser under Rishi Sunak.
His report recommends “major reform” to PIP, making it a “conditional” benefit for those aged 16 to 30. This means those in this age bracket would be required to look for work or be involved in further education or training, except in exceptional circumstances.
However, several experts have taken issue with changes to PIP being made with the aim of boosting employment, pointing out that it is not an out-of-work benefit. This means the rumoured £5bn in savings would appear not to wash with Labour’s state goal of boosting employment, critics say.
James Taylor, Executive Director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope said: “Ripping PIP away will be catastrophic for disabled people.
“PIP exists because life costs more if you are disabled. Those costs won’t disappear if the government squeezes eligibility. Many disabled people use PIP to get to and from work and to pay for essential equipment like mobility aids.
“Making it harder to get benefits will just push even more disabled people into poverty, not into jobs. The Chancellor has a choice – cut benefits and increase poverty, or invest in an equal future for disabled people.
“Making the wrong choice will have a devastating impact on disabled people and their families.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has not yet given any confirmed details of the upcoming changes to benefits, with an announcement expected before Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.
Last month, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said too many people claiming benefits instead of working were “taking the mickey.”
While a DWP-commissioned report found that around half of those on health and disability benefits thought they would never be able to work, Ms Kendall said: “I don’t blame people for thinking that they can’t, because they’re stuck on a waiting list for treatment, they haven’t had the proper support that they might need from the job centre.”
Ahead of the much-anticipated Green Paper, the DWP announced 1,000 work coaches are set to be deployed to jobcentres across the UK to help sick and disabled people find employment.
