Major change to PIP disability benefits planned in government shake-up – including cash payments replaced with vouchers
A HUGE shake-up to PIP is being planned by the government and it could see cash payments replaced with vouchers.
Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is set to announce plans to overhaul the way disability benefit works in a statement today.
The main focus will be on reforming Personal Independent Payments (PIP) – the main disability benefit – through changes to eligibility criteria and assessments.
The plans, which will be consulted on over the coming months, also include proposals to “move away from a fixed cash benefit system”.
This could mean that people with some conditions will no longer receive regular payments but instead will get improved access to treatment if their condition does not involve extra costs.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Stride suggested this would mean people with “milder mental health conditions” would no longer receive financial support.
It comes after the Prime Minister announced major changes to the welfare system, saying “people with less severe mental health conditions should be expected to engage with the world of work”.
Mr Stride said the system should not be paying people to deal with the “ordinary difficulties of life”.
He described the reforms as “probably the most fundamental reforms in a generation”.
He added that a “whole plethora of things”, such as talking therapies, social care packages and respite care, could be used as alternatives to benefit payments.
The number of monthly PIP awards for mental health disorders has doubled since 2019, from 2,200 to 5,300, in line with an increase in overall PIP awards which have also doubled to 33,000 a month.
A Green Paper – a consultation document provided by the government – will be published alongside Mr Stride’s speech today.
Rishi Sunak described it as “the next chapter of our welfare reforms” that would make the benefits system “fairer to the taxpayer, better targeted to individual needs and harder to exploit”.
But James Taylor, the executive director of strategy at disability equity charity Scope called to end the “reckless assault” on disabled people and to fix the “real underlying issues”.
“It’s hard to have any faith that this consultation is about anything other than cutting the benefits bill, no matter the impact,” Mr Taylor said.
“Life costs a lot more for disabled people, including people with mental health conditions.
The key proposed changes to PIP
THE three key changes set to be included in the Government's Green Paper are:
- Changing PIP eligibility criteria to better reflect how conditions affect a claimant’s daily life
- Making PIP assessments more closely linked to someone’s conditions, including removing assessments entirely for some conditions supported by medical evidence
- Moving away from a fixed cash benefit for some conditions, providing either one-off grants for specific costs such as home adaptation, or ensuring access to “alternative means of support”.
“Threatening to take away the low amount of income PIP provides won’t solve the country’s problems.”
The consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing on July 23.
Who can get PIP?
PIP is available to those aged 16 or over who have not yet reached the state pension age – which is currently 66.
You must have lived in England or Wales for at least two out of the last three years, and be in one of these countries when you apply.
The process is different in Northern Ireland, and there are additional rules if you live abroad or if you’re not a British citizen.
In Scotland, you will need to apply for Adult Disability Payment (ADP) instead.
You must also have a health condition or disability where you either have had difficulties with daily living or getting around – or both – for three months.
And, you expect these difficulties to continue for at least nine months (unless you’re terminally ill with less than 12 months to live).
Difficulties with daily living can include:
- Preparing or eating food
- Washing, bathing and using the toilet
- Dressing and undressing
- Reading and communicating
- Managing your medicines or treatments
- Making decisions about money
- Engaging with other people
You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment.
If you receive constant attendance allowance you will receive less of the daily living part of PIP.
If you get war pensioners‘ mobility supplement you will not get the mobility part of PIP.
How much can you get on PIP?
The payments are made up of two parts for living and two for mobility.
Plus, for each component, there is a standard and an enhanced rate.
How much you get also depends on how your condition affects you.
Payments increased this month and we outline below how much they have gone up by:
Daily Living Component
- Standard: £72.65 per week (up from £68.10) – increase of £236.60 a year
- Enhanced: £108.55 per week (up from £101.75) – increase of £353.60 a year
Mobility Component
- Standard: £28.70 per week (up from £26.90) – increase of £93.60 a year
- Enhanced: £75.75 per week (up from £71) – increase of £247
PIP claimants can only claim one of each of the elements.
The increases means that if you qualify for the enhanced daily living and mobility components of PIP, you’ll get £184.30 a week, £798.63 a month and £9,583.60 a year.
This is an increase of £11.55 a week, £50.05 a month and £600.60 a year.
If you get the standard components of both you’ll get £101.35 a week, £405.40 a month, and £5,270.20 a year.
How do I apply for PIP?
HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP)
You can make a new PIP claim by calling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 0800 917 2222.
This is the government department tasked with paying out benefits to millions every year.
There are also other ways to claim if you find it difficult to use a telephone. See Gov.UK for more information.
When you claim, you’ll need:
- Your contact details
- Date of birth
- National Insurance number
- Bank or building society account number and sort code
- Your doctor or health worker’s name, address and telephone number
- Dates and addresses for any time you’ve spent abroad, in a care home or hospital
Someone else can call on your behalf, but you’ll need to be with them when they call.
You’ll then be sent a form to fill in, after which you’ll be invited for an assessment or your health or social care worker will be asked for information.
After this, you’ll be sent a letter telling you if your claim has been successful.
You can read Citizens Advice’s help on preparing for an assessment.
Which conditions could be eligible?
There is not a definitive list of medical conditions which could make you eligible for PIP as it varies massively.
Crucially, it’s important to bear in mind that being diagnosed with the condition doesn’t automatically qualify you for PIP.
Instead it depends on how the condition affects your daily life and your ability to do daily tasks.
Here are 25 examples of conditions that could qualify:
- Asbestosis
- Asthma
- Bronchiectasis
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Emphysema
- Empyema
- Extrinsic allergic alveolitis
- Fibrosing alveolitis
- Granulomatous lung disease and pulmonary infiltration
- Heart and lung transplantation
- Lung transplantation
- Pleura
- Pleural effusion
- Pneumoconiosis
- Pneumonia
- Pneumothorax
- Pulmonary embolus
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Pulmonary fibrosis – other/type not known
- Sarcoidosis
- Silicosis
- Sleep apnoea – obstructive
- Upper respiratory tract – other diseases of/type not known
Do I have to be in work to get PIP?
No, you can get PIP whether you’re working or not.
You can also claim PIP if you’re already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit.
Households eligible for LCWRA payments usually have a health condition which prevents or limits their ability to work.
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