DWP issues update on PIP plans as Labour prepares to launch benefits overhaul

Sir Stephen Timms speaking in the Commons
-Credit: (Image: Parliament TV)


A DWP minister has issued a new update on plans to revamp Personal Independence Payment to control soaring costs. More than 3.6 million people currently receive the disability benefit, which pays up to £737 every four weeks and can be claimed regardless of income or savings.

Plans put forward under the previous Government included replacing PIP payments with vouchers, grants or shopping catalogues to purchase essential disability equipment. A three-month public consultation on the changes continued through the General Election campaign and into Labour's new administration, before concluding on July 22.

The feedback of 16,000 responses - a substantial number but still only 0.4 per cent of the total number of PIP claimants - was scrutinised by DWP officials over the summer to help it assess what changes may need to be made to the benefit. Sir Stephen Timms, Minister of State for Social Security and Disability, has now delivered a new update.

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It was issued after Chris Law, SNP MP for Dundee Central, asked the DWP if it intended to implement the proposals outlined in the green paper published in April. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already said Labour's first Budget on October 30 will include "difficult decisions" on welfare and Sir Stephen confirmed there will be a raft of benefit reforms coming up.

Sir Stephen said: "The Department received over 16,000 responses to the consultation. This demonstrates the depth of feeling about the previous Government’s proposals. I thank the British public, as well as the numerous charities and organisations who responded on behalf of their members, for the time and effort taken to share their thoughts and views.

"Whilst engaging with responses, I can confirm that responses to the set of proposals on the reform of Personal Independence Payments was mixed and for some proposals consistently negative. We will be setting out our own plans for social security in due course and will fulfil our continued commitment to work with disabled people so that their views and voices are at the heart of all that we do."

Alternatives to PIP cash payments that were listed in the Green Paper include:

  1. Catalogue/shop scheme: This would be an approved list from which people could choose items such as equipment or disability aids at reduced or no cost.

  2. Voucher scheme: Disabled people would receive vouchers to contribute towards specific costs. It could work for both equipment/aids and for services.

  3. Receipt-based system: This would involve claimants buying appliances or services themselves, and then providing proof of their purchase to claim back a contribution towards the cost. This would work in a similar way to Access to Work, which provides grants for equipment, adaptations, and other costs to help disabled people to start and stay in work.

  4. One-off grants: These could contribute towards specific, significant costs such as home adaptations or expensive equipment. It could involve a person supplying medical evidence of their condition to demonstrate the need for equipment or adaptations.

The Green Paper added that while these alternative models could cover the extra costs of a disability or health condition, other forms of support - including health care, social services care provision, and respite - are also crucial in helping people to realise their full potential and live independently.

The latest response from the disability minister suggests that the vouchers plan - which was proposed by the previous Government and provoked a huge outcry - may have been shelved in favour of other changes Labour is yet to announce. Recent cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment, now restricted to those on Pension Credit and some other means-tested benefits, could be a sign that Labour will not shy away from other substantial rule changes to the welfare system including the possibility of means-testing disability benefits.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies has released a report that says soaring numbers of claims for disability benefits are a "fiscal headache" for the Labour government and options that must be considered include cutting payment levels, restricting eligibility to reduce the number of claims, and a longer-term plan for improving healthcare. It says that only an immediate cut to payments will produce the savings required.

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