The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has received a variety of responses from the public regarding proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The number of people claiming PIP has reached a record high, with over 3.6 million individuals in Great Britain receiving financial support each month.
The SNP’s Chris Law inquired about the UK Government’s plans to implement proposals outlined in the ‘Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper’. This paper suggested various welfare reforms, including replacing cash PIP payments with alternatives like vouchers, grants, or support aids from a catalogue. Other proposals involve adjusting PIP eligibility, reviewing the assessment process, and transferring PIP costs to the NHS and local authorities.
Minister for Social Security and Disabilities, Sir Stephen Timms MP, revealed that over 16,000 responses were collected during the consultation period, indicating strong public sentiment against the previous Government’s proposals. Despite mixed feedback on the reform of Personal Independence Payments, Timms assured that the government will unveil its own social security plans in the future, emphasizing the importance of working with disabled individuals to shape policy decisions.
Parliament is currently in recess until October 7, when the new ministerial team, led by Liz Kendall, will address questions related to DWP policies. The Green Paper explores alternatives to traditional PIP cash payments, such as a catalogue/shop scheme, voucher scheme, receipt-based system, and one-off grants to assist disabled individuals with their extra costs.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts that changes to the Work Capability Assessment could result in 424,000 people with serious mobility or mental health issues losing out on extra Universal Credit benefits and protection from sanctions. Only a small percentage of these individuals are expected to transition into employment within the next four years.
It’s worth noting that the proposed reforms will not impact 173,000 individuals in Scotland currently receiving PIP or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), as they will transition to Adult Disability Payment (ADP) or Scottish Adult DLA (SADLA) by the end of next year.
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