The Department for Work and Pensions is planning to change the way people are assessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a bid to root out benefit cheats
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed it is set to overhaul Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments in a crackdown on benefit fraud. This move follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s concerns, expressed in a recent speech on welfare reforms, about the potential misuse of PIP.
Sunak highlighted issues with the current system, where PIP awards are sometimes based on “subjective and unverifiable claims” regarding the impact of physical or mental health conditions on daily life. He pointed out that certain conditions are not detectable through medical scans or tests, leaving assessors to rely solely on claimants’ accounts of their conditions and the extent to which they are affected.
In response to the PM’s speech, the Government released a statement detailing its plans, citing “concerns that the assessment process is significantly easier to game by individuals who seek to exploit the system.”
As part of the proposed welfare reforms, the DWP has issued a stark warning to PIP claimants about a potential £950 income gap due to the new changes.
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The Government elaborated on its strategy, announcing: “A consultation on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be published in the coming days which will explore changes to the eligibility criteria, assessment process and types of support that can be offered so the system is better targeted towards individual needs and more closely linked to a person’s condition rather than the current ‘one size fits all’ approach.”
The Government is set to launch a consultation on the possibility of “alternative interventions to cash payments” for those with less severe conditions or well-managed cases, instead of the current Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system. PIP can provide up to £9,584 a year or £798.63 a month, and is claimed by 3.5 million people, as per Birmingham Live.
In 2019, England and Wales saw roughly 2,200 new monthly PIP awards for anxiety and depression as the main condition, a figure that soared to 5,300 per month last year. The Government points out that this surge is contributing to an unsustainable increase in disability benefits expenditure, with PIP costs alone projected to rise by 52% from 2023/24 to £32.8 billion by 2027/28.
Since the pandemic, total benefits spending for working-age individuals with disabilities or health conditions has jumped by nearly two-thirds to £69 billion, surpassing the funds allocated for schools or policing. The Government has declared that the current adult disability benefits system is not fit for purpose. “It’s clear our current disability benefit system for adults of working age is not fit for purpose,” the Government said.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak highlighted the issue in his speech, saying: “The whole system is undermined by the way people are asked to make subjective and unverifiable claims about their capability. So in the coming days we will publish a consultation on how we move away from that to a more objective and rigorous approach that focuses support on those with the greatest needs and extra costs.”
“We will do that by being more precise about the type and severity of mental health conditions that should be eligible for PIP. We’ll consider linking that assessment more closely to a person’s actual condition and requiring greater medical evidence to substantiate a claim. All of which will make the system fairer and harder to exploit.”
Parts of the welfare reforms will address how work capability assessments are conducted for those on Universal Credit. According to Mr Sunak, too many individuals have been prematurely deemed unfit for work and awarded additional support through monthly incapacity payments amounting to £416, atop their Universal Credit.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride stated: “I believe our welfare system is about far more than benefit payments; it is about changing lives for the better. That is why we’re bringing forward the next generation of welfare reforms.”
“We’ve already overhauled the outdated benefit system by introducing Universal Credit, and now we are building a new welfare settlement for Britain one where no one gets left behind. The welfare reforms announced by the Prime Minister today will modernise the support available for those who need it the most, improve the value of the welfare system for taxpayers, and ensure that people are signed up to support back to work, not signed off.”
