The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that its ambitious plan to overhaul a range of disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payments, is “on track” for early 2025. A consultation is set to be launched in Spring 2025.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson commented: “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.”
They added, “Building on our ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper, we will be publishing a consultation in the spring on measures to ensure the system is better supporting people, including young people, to get them into work and keep them in work.”
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Labour’s Liz Kendall has indicated that the proposed changes are aimed “to ensure the system is better supporting people.”
Labour’s stance is to develop a system that “moves away from binary categories of fit for work, or not fit for work, meaning people do not need to demonstrate they are too sick to work to access financial support”. Currently, the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) categorises individuals as either fit for work, not fit for work but able to engage in work-related activities, or not fit for any work-related activities.
Despite this, the Treasury has refuted claims that Labour would proceed with identical reforms to the WCA, although it has acknowledged the planned £3bn in welfare cuts.
Labour has expressed a desire to overhaul the system, making it easier to navigate and more trustworthy for its users. They aim to focus on preventing job loss and moving away from the rigid categories of ‘fit for work’ or ‘not fit for work’.
This would mean that individuals wouldn’t have to prove they are too ill to work in order to receive financial support.