Millions of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants have been put on alert over major changes set to be made to the benefit by the Government this year. A review will be launched into PIP and how it will work going forwards as ministers look to cut the welfare bill.
Major changes could include increasing the threshold to qualify for PIP, excluding more people from the benefit and making it harder to qualify. Over three million Brits currently claim the disability benefit worth up to £185 a week.
It’s paid to people who require help getting around or completing daily tasks and is made up of two components – daily living and mobility. Claimants can get one or both of these depending on their circumstances.
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A consultation on the future of PIP is set to be launched in spring – around March or April – with more detailed plans likely to follow later this year. Labour has been clear about its intentions to reform welfare and cut the benefits bill.
Ministers also want to get more people off sickness benefits and back into work. It remains unclear whether there will be changes to the Work Capability Assessment, which determines who gets certain benefits, as was planned under the previous Conservative Government. The Prime Minister’s spokesperson told the Independent: “We have seen a situation this Government inherited on inactivity, we have seen the situation on the spiralling benefits bill with millions of people on long-term illness or disability out of work and not getting the support that they need, and that is why we are determined to fix this.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “I will be putting forward our own proposals to reform sickness and disability benefits. This is extremely difficult and I know people really want more detail, but we won’t do that until we’re absolutely ready and have had the proper discussions with people.”