DWP issues new PIP changes update and says 'action must be taken'

The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a further response on its planned reforms of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). It is aiming to change the way disability support is offered, including alternatives to cash payments such as vouchers to pay for appliances or treatment.

It's also exploring the idea of basing decisions on a professional diagnosis of a condition rather than on assessments of how a person's life is affected. A consultation on the proposals is taking place over the next 12 weeks.

A massive rise in PIP expenditure is one of the reasons that major changes are being explored. In 2022-23, the Government says it spent £15.7 billion on disability benefits for people of working age in England and Wales, and this is forecast to rise to £29.8 billion by 2028-29. There are now more than 33,000 new awards for PIP every month, a figure that has almost doubled since the pandemic.

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In a debate on Health and Disability Reform in the House of Lords, which followed the DWP announcement on disability benefit reforms, some members criticised the plans and said delays in NHS treatment were at the root of the "unsustainable" rise in PIP claims.

Baroness Sherlock (Labour) said: "The Government said that DLA (Disability Living Allowance) was the problem and PIP was the answer; now it seems that PIP is the problem. The fact is that we have a problem in this country: we have a record 2.8 million people locked out of work due to long-term sickness. But what or who is to blame? How much of that is down to the Government's record on the NHS? When the Statement was debated in the Commons, the chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee pointed out that 'PIP assessment providers confirm that worsening delays in NHS treatment are a big factor in the increase in the number of people applying for PIP.'"

She promised a different approach under Sir Keir Starmer. Baroness Sherlock explained: "A Labour Government would take a different approach. Among those who need the help of the state, there are some people who are temporarily or, in some cases, permanently unable to work and who need support to have a decent life. There are many others who need extra help to get, keep and advance in a job, and it is the state's job to give that to them. For those people, health and work are two sides of the same coin.

"Rather than blaming people for being sick, a Labour Government will support our NHS. The last Labour Government delivered the highest patient satisfaction level on record, and that is the record on which we want to build. We will drive down NHS waiting lists by getting patients treated on time, with 2 million more weekend and evening appointments, and we will ensure more support for those with mental health problems through an extra 8,500 mental health staff.

"We will focus constructively on work, the other side of that coin, because the costs of failure in this area are a disaster for individuals and the country. Where it is possible, work is good for us - for our mental and physical health. Labour will have a new deal for working people, improving rights for the first time in a generation. We will drive up employment in every region, devolve employment support and end the tick-box culture in jobcentres. We will tear down the barriers to work for disabled people and provide help for young people.

"Labour will carefully review the issues raised by this latest Green Paper. Clearly, sick and disabled people need appropriate help and support, but we also want to be a country where disabled people have the same right to a good job and the help to get it as anyone else. We will judge any measure that the Government bring forward on its merits and against that principle."

Baroness Tyler of Enfield (Liberal Democrat) said: "We need to go back to the root causes here. Can it be any surprise that so many people are claiming sickness and disability benefits when millions are still waiting for NHS treatment, and mental health wait times are through the roof, due to an acute shortage of mental health professionals, including doctors, nurses and counsellors? Does the Minister agree that if the Government are serious about getting people back to work, they need first to reduce waiting times for NHS treatment and tackle the crisis in our mental health services which makes accessing mental health treatment so difficult and protracted?

"The Prime Minister also claimed that these changes are about 'compassion', but does this not rather miss the point that most young people claiming PIP are doing so because they have ADHD or autism, rather than anxiety and depression? Last year, 190,000 young people claimed PIP due to autism, ADHD or other learning disabilities, compared to just 129,000 claiming for all other disabilities. Could the Minister explain why, in the announcement of these proposals, there has been such a strong focus on anxiety and depression and how far this is based on the evidence?

"I am concerned that potentially stopping cash payments will be seen as an affront to the dignity of benefit recipients. It could hardly be said that the reaction from the sector has been favourable. The charity Scope has said that these plans do not fix the underlying issues faced by disabled people."

DWP minister Viscount Younger of Leckie issued a new update, responding to the points raised. The parliamentary under-secretary said: "The Government will never dismiss or downplay the conditions that people have; it is precisely because we take mental health so seriously that we need to reform the system. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but the current system does not reflect that. It is simply wrong to write people off when there is a growing body of evidence that good work can improve mental health.

"In terms of the evidence, I visited a jobcentre only this morning and asked various questions of the job coaches. The evidence is certainly there. There is an increased level of mental ill-health, some of a severe nature. Action must be taken.

"But it is more than that; it has been over 10 years since the introduction of PIP. We need to ensure that our system is fair and accurately targeted at those who need our support most. Although we have made significant progress, the disability benefits system for adults of working age is not consistently providing support in the way it was intended.

"Mental health remains a key government priority; that is why we are investing £2.3 billion a year into NHS mental health services, and why we brought in the long-term workforce plan, which will deliver the fastest expansion of mental health services in the NHS’s history

"In 2019, there were an average of 2,200 new PIP awards a month in England and Wales, where the main disabling condition was mixed anxiety and depressive disorders. That figure more than doubled to 5,300 a month in 2023. As I said earlier, we will and must continue to support everyone with mental health conditions, recognising that the severity and individual circumstances will vary and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Those with the most debilitating conditions should be entitled to the support they need, as I said earlier. That is exactly what PIP is intended to do, and that core aim will not change.

"However, we need to have an honest conversation, which we have just started, about whether individuals with some conditions are better served by treatment and tailored support than by cash payments. To increase support, we have expanded mental health provision. Altogether, between 2018-19 and 2023-24, spending on mental health services has increased by £4.7 billion in cash terms, increasing access to mental health services. This has put 400,000 extra people through the NHS talking therapies programme."

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