PIP: Disabled people face end to monthly benefits cash

More than three million disabled people face losing monthly benefits payments, under plans set to be unveiled by the government.

Reforms to personal independence payments (PIP) could include stopping regular cash payments, and instead offering claimants one-off grants for things like home adaptations.

The government says the benefits bill is rising at an “unsustainable rate”, as the number of people claiming for mental health conditions has soared.

The disability charity Scope described the plans as a “reckless assault on disabled people.”

PIP was introduced in 2013 to replace Disability Living Allowance for people of working age to help with extra living costs caused by long-term disabilities or ill health.

The most recent statistics say more than 3.3 million people in Britain receive PIP to help with the extra cost of living with a health condition or disability. Some claimants are of retirement age but are eligible because they received support when they were of working age.

How many people are given depends on how difficult they find everyday tasks and getting around. The maximum weekly payment is £184.30.

The cash can be used for things like special diets, clothing, additional laundry or cleaning and accessible taxis or fuel to get to hospital appointments.

The government has said spending on PIP was expected to grow by 52% from 2023/24 to £32.8bn by 2027/28.

The number of monthly new claimants in England and Wales, where the main condition was anxiety and depression, has soared from an average of 2,200 a month in 2019 to 5,300 a month last year.

Paul Harris, from Barnard Castle, gets £72.65 a week in PIP payments to help with extra costs associated with his anxiety and depression – such as for specialist therapy apps and counselling.

He stopped his job as a property manager in 2016 after developing panic attacks that got so bad he would burst into tears in the office and lock himself in the toilet.

He has not been able to work since then and says PIP is the “last stronghold” of benefits that can support him.

Mr Harris said: “I used to call myself zero, because I had zero money coming in. I had no job… so in a weird way, just a little bit of money coming in just sort of changed those thoughts.”

He does receive employment and support allowance, but cannot claim job seekers’ allowance because he says his mental health is a barrier to applying for jobs, despite previously seeking support from the Jobcentre.

He says the money he receives “does not solve the problems”, adding: “It’s not a miracle cure – it doesn’t mean we can go off on holidays and live this frivolous lifestyle.”

Mr Harris does not believe there is enough long-term support available for those with mental health issues.

The proposals – which come in the form of a 12-week consultation – include making changes to the eligibility criteria for PIP.

It would consider whether current descriptors – such as the need for aids and appliances – are good indicators of extra costs.

Other options include one-off grants for significant costs such as home adaptations or expensive equipment, and reimbursing claimants who provide receipts for purchases of aids, appliances or services.

They are also considering whether people with long-term conditions and disabilities would need to be assessed at all.

James Taylor, executive director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said the plans do not fix the underlying issues faced by disabled people.

He said: “It’s hard to have any faith that this consultation is about anything other than cutting the benefits bill, no matter the impact.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: “We’re making the biggest welfare reforms in a generation – protecting those most in need while supporting thousands into work as we modernize our benefit system to reflect the changing health landscape.”

Labour’s acting shadow work and pensions secretary, Alison McGovern, said the consultation showed the government was “out of ideas and out of time”.

“We want to see a system that allows disabled people to live independently and enable as many as possible to work,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said: “This is yet another desperate pre-election gimmick. If this Conservative government was serious about helping people back into work they’d focus on fixing the NHS and ensuring you can see a GP when you need to “