The amount of benefits disabled people can claim will be significantly reduced under government plans.
Changes to disability-related benefits will make it more difficult to obtain the daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP) and the health element of universal credit (UC).
The proposals are detailed the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working green paper.
Introducing this in the spring, Liz Kendall, secretary of state for work and pensions, claimed that a £1 billion package of employment support will be provided to help those who can work to get earning and that those who cannot work will be protected.
The biggest concern is how entitlement to the PIP daily living component will be assessed.
As at present and following the changes, claimants will have to score 8–11 points regarding daily living activities to qualify for the standard rate, and 12 points or more for the enhanced rate.
However, under the changes, claimants must score four or more points in at least one activity to get the daily living component. Even if their total exceeds eight points, those scoring only 1–3 points in each activity will not be eligible.
These changes will also affect existing claimants during a PIP renewal application or review. Clients could lose entitlement to not only the PIP daily living component but also to other entitlements linked to it.
Carers will also be affected. To get carer’s allowance, as they must be looking after someone who gets a qualifying disability benefit
Carers will also be affected if a person loses their benefit. To get carer’s allowance, the carer must be looking after someone who gets a qualifying disability benefit.
Other proposals include:
- The revised PIP assessment will be used to determine entitlement to the health element of UC. The work capability assessment will be abolished
- The health element of UC will not be available to people aged under 22 years
- The amount of the health element paid to new claimants will be cut from £97 to £50 per week by 2026-27, and frozen for those already receiving it
- An unemployment insurance benefit will replace new style employment and support and new style jobseeker’s allowance with one national insurance based, time-limited benefit. A health assessment will not be required. Claimants will be expected to actively seek work, but there will be ‘easements’ for some with health conditions.
It is estimated that the changes in eligibility for PIP will affect between 800,000 and 1.2 million people who are now getting PIP.
The two real-life cases below show how the changes will affect people (names have been changed).
Vishna Shah has a learning disability and lives in supported housing. Because she needs supervision to prepare food and/or cook, she is awarded four points in the PIP activity of ‘preparing food’.
If she can get a further four or more points from one or more other activities, she will qualify for the daily living component.
Her neighbour, Jimmy Smith, also has a learning disability but needs his support worker only to ‘prompt’ him so he regularly washes himself, changes his clothes, has daily meals and makes social plans.
He might score two points in several activities but is unlikely to score four points in any one so will fail the assessment.
One in five worse off
The disability sector has reacted angrily to the proposals.
Mencap has said that “this is not the life that disabled people should face in 2025” and, according to the National Autistic Society, the impact of these cuts will be huge, “with one in five households with a disabled person ending up worse off by an average of £1,720”.
United Response said: “Welfare reform should be about ensuring people get the support they need – not saving money to meet government targets.”
