DWP issues update on PIP reform plans ahead of major welfare changes
Around 800,000 people will have their payments stopped
SHAKE UP DWP issues update on PIP reform plans ahead of major welfare changes
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
THE Department for Work and Pensions has issued a major update on PIP reform plans ahead of a major shake-up.
In March, the government revealed plans to tighten the rules for claiming personal independence payments (PIP).
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
1
The government also plans to cut the extra health payments available to those on Universal Credit
The goal is to shave £5billion a year off the nation's soaring welfare budget and drive more people to return to work.
Today, the proposed legislation to make this happen was introduced in Parliament for the first time.
The DWP's Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill explains how the government plans to reduce the number of people claiming PIP by making the rules for eligibility stricter.
Currently, you qualify for PIP by earning enough points across different tasks, like cooking, cleaning, or managing money.
But, under the new rules, you'll need to score at least four points on one specific daily living activity to qualify.
This means simply having minor difficulties across several areas may no longer be enough to qualify.
This change could see about 800,000 people lose out, with an average loss of £4,500 per year, according to government's own impact assessment.
However, the Bill also introduces measures to protect existing claimants who might lose their payments.
If someone loses their PIP under the new rules, they will still receive payments for 13 weeks as a safety net.
This also applies to related benefits, such as carer's allowance.
But campaigners, including disability equality charity Scope, said the longer transition period, up from an originally expected four weeks, "will only temporarily delay a cut and disabled people will continue to be living with extra costs when it comes to an end".
Rachel Reeves delivers the Spring Budget in full
Food bank network Trussell said: "The last-minute details on protections offer something for a small proportion of people, but even they will still see a real-terms cut.
"The reality of this Bill is still record cuts in support for disabled people, and the biggest cuts to social security since 2015."
The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill has also set out how the government proposes to slash incapacity benefits offered to those on Universal Credit.
It also includes a proposal to hike the Universal Credit standard allowance above inflation over the next four years.
What is PIP and who is eligible?
HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP).
The maximum you can receive from the Government benefit is £187.45 a week.
PIP is for those over 16 and under the state pension age, currently 66.
Crucially, 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).
You can also claim PIP if you're in or out of work and if you're already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit.
PIP is made up of two parts and whether you get one or both of these depends on how severely your condition affects you.
You may get the mobility part of PIP if you need help going out or moving around. The weekly rate for this is either £29.70 or £77.05.
On the daily living part of PIP, the weekly rate is either £73.90 or £110.40 - and you could get both elements, so up to £187.45 in total.
You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment.
What's happening with Universal Credit?
The government plans to freeze the extra health payments available to those on Universal Credit who are unable to work.
For people already on Universal Credit, the current incapacity payment of £416.19 a month for those unable to work will be frozen until 2030.
This means the payment will no longer increase with inflation each spring.
However, for new claims starting from April 2026, this very same payment will be cut by half, to approximately £208 a month (or £50 a week).
This reduced amount will also be frozen until 2030, meaning new claimants will receive significantly less extra support.
At the same time, the government is proposing to hike the Universal Credit standard allowance above inflation over the next four years.
It believes that raising the standard allowance for everyone while reducing the health top-up will make returning to work more financially worthwhile and possible.
However, charities disagree.
Anela Anwar, chief executive of anti-poverty charity Z2K, said: "We all know that our broken disability benefits system needs reform.
"But these reckless plans, which official estimates show will plunge more than one million disabled people into poverty or even deeper into poverty, do not represent meaningful reform.
"Government suggestions that these cuts are about helping people into work are entirely disingenuous.
"Experts agree that only between 1% and 3% of those who will be hit by the cuts are expected to find work as a result."
The government also plans to get rid of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), which is used to decide if someone qualifies for Universal Credit health payments, at a later date.
Instead, the DWP will use the PIP assessment to decide if someone is eligible for these health payments.
The DWP aims to make this change by 2028.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
Britain's £100billion benefits timebomb that no one is brave enough to defuse
TO the hand-wringing Labour MPs plotting to torpedo the government's £5billion in welfare cuts, some facts. Even with that squeeze, we are still hurtling towards a £100billion sickness benefits bill EVERY YEAR by the end of the decade. 4 4 That is roughly equivalent to the entire size of Slovakia's economy — or the annual output of the City of London. It is more than the combined yearly budgets of the police, prisons and courts — and twice that of what we spend on defence. You could buy every Premier League club several times over and then some. And that is before you even scratch the surface on public money for jobseekers and the elderly. Britain is a nation that looks after people — at ease with the language of safety nets, support and compassion. But we have to be honest about what we have become: a nation hooked on handouts that is driving our economy on to the rocks. Painfully clear A creaking welfare state — with a price tag no government can control and no taxpayer can sustain — is ready to burst. The parliamentary bill to reform it — introduced yesterday by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall — was meant to be the moment Labour got serious. It tightens eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), slashes Universal Credit for new claimants and freezes it for existing ones. On paper it is a package designed to 'make the system sustainable' and save the Treasury £5billion a year by 2030. Five key changes to PIP & Universal Credit as Labour's benefits crackdown unveiled But when you actually read the figures, it becomes painfully clear just how little difference it will make. Britain is still projected to spend £100.7billion a year on health and disability benefits by 2029–30 — up from £64.7billion just last year. That is a 55 per cent rise in just six years, driven largely by soaring costs in working-age sickness and disability payments, with PIP fuelling the surge. Once meant to help those with serious long-term physical and mental conditions live independently, PIP is now claimed by more than 3.7million people — and demand is only accelerating. The number of new applications has shot up by 70 per cent since 2018, with more than 1,000 new claims A DAY thudding on to DWP desks. The bill for PIP alone has already ballooned from £12billion in 2019 to more than £21billion today, and it is predicted to hit an eye-watering £42.3billion by 2028–29. Driving this explosion is a marked rise in claims linked to mental disorders — now the main condition for nearly 70 per cent of new applicants under-35. Combined with long Covid, chronic fatigue, and musculoskeletal complaints such as back pain, we have arrived at a staggering projection: that by 2030 nearly one in 12 working-age Brits will be economically inactive due to long-term sickness. International comparisons lay bare just how much of an outlier the UK has become. We now spend more on working-age disability benefits as a share of GDP than almost any other advanced economy. Most European countries — including France, Germany and the Netherlands — have seen their incapacity benefit caseloads remain steady while ours is still climbing. Is it any wonder why critics start to mutter about the UK becoming the ' Sicknote Man of Europe '. But far from marking a moment of unity for Labour, the new bill has lit the fuse on a major rebellion and split the party in two. More than 100 Labour MPs are squeamish about the proposals, and many have already threatened to vote it down when it comes to a vote in the next few weeks. Supporters of the reforms say the real betrayal would be pearl-clutching backbenchers pretending the current system can continue. One Labour insider told me: 'You can't call yourself progressive if you ignore a system that's spiralling out of control. This isn't about cruelty. It's about honesty.' The internal row gripping the party was not unexpected — but the scale of it was. A far tougher package was meant to be unveiled at March's Spring Statement to lance the boil in one fell swoop. But after internal leaks and pushback from Labour left-wingers, No10 blinked. 4 The result? A lightweight version, rushed out early and designed to placate mutinous MPs. One senior Government figure admitted to me a few months ago: 'We had one shot to fix this, and we bottled it. These are half-measures. They won't be enough.' The deeper danger now is not just the cost but the fact political will to act is slipping away. We are an old population, with flatlining productivity, who have very few babies. We cannot have a generous welfare state and a national social care service, and a massive in-work support system Backbencher Some inside the party get it. They know the writing is on the wall: an ageing population, low birth rates, flatlining productivity and soaring demand on every part of the state. Commons humiliation As one influential backbencher put it: 'We have to get serious about reforming the state. "We are an old population, with flatlining productivity, who have very few babies. We cannot have a generous welfare state and a national social care service, and a massive in-work support system. 'We need to change expectations about what Government does in a radical and sustained way. I do not see us being serious about that right now.' Behind the scenes, the whips are in damage control mode, trying to keep a lid on the rebellion. Abstentions might help Labour avoid a Commons humiliation but they will not solve the underlying dilemma. This is not just about one benefit, or one Budget line. It is about what kind of state Britain can be in the 2020s and beyond — and how much we can afford. For too long politicians have ducked the debate, layering new promises on top of old ones without ever confronting the trade-offs. Now, the bill is landing and it's not just a financial one, it's political, too. Labour may win the vote but its bigger test is yet to come: can it finally level with the public, not just about what needs cutting, but what kind of country we want to be? 4
Scottish Sun
42 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
My hardware shop survived two world wars, recessions & Covid – now Rachel Reeves has KO'd it after 160 years
Paul says he would have liked his daughter Sophie and grandson James to take over, but that won't happen now CLOSING TIME My hardware shop survived two world wars, recessions & Covid – now Rachel Reeves has KO'd it after 160 years Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FOR 160 years Mogford & Son has been a trusty hardware shop just like the one seen in the Two Ronnies' famous 'fork handles' sketch. But running a small independent shop has become no laughing matter for its current owner Paul Gillam. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 After 160 years, surviving two world wars and Covid, rising costs have sounded the death knell for Mogford & Son Credit: Jon Rowley 5 A snap of W.H Mogfrod & Son taken in 1920 Credit: Jon Rowley 5 Current owner Paul Gillam has blamed rising costs, including Rachel Reeves' National Insurance hike, for having to shutter the store for good Credit: AP Because of a tsunami of rising costs, including Rachel Reeves' employer National Insurance increase, Paul, 57, has been forced to call it a day. At the end of September Mogford — one of Britain's oldest shops — will close its doors for the final time. Queen Victoria was on the throne in the 1860s when businessman WH Mogford first opened his ironmongers store on the high street in Westbury-on-Trym, north Bristol. This Aladdin's cave has survived two world wars, the Great Depression, recessions and Covid but the current owner has had to make the heartbreaking decision to stop trading. Close to tears, Paul told The Sun: 'I'm working seven days a week but things have got more expensive. From staffing costs to National Insurance and bank charges. 'The car park up the road has started to charge £2, so people can no longer park for free, because the council is short of cash. My business rates keep going up. 'It's been a hard decision but I can't carry on.' Standing at the till, Paul is surrounded by thousands of objects for the home, from bamboo and compost to jubilee clips and, of course, candles. He has a wry smile as he poses with four candles, like shopkeeper Ronnie Corbett in the famous TV sketch, but he looks sad as he surveys his stock. There are house numbers, bolts, rabbit food and aquarium cleaners all stacked neatly on shelving that has carried everything the local community could want for the past century and a half. Popular bank with over 400 spots confirms it is shutting 18 branches in August – it follows 148 closures by rivals Paul's wife Babs, 55, who has been working in the shop since two staff retired recently, not to be replaced, says: 'The Government say they want to keep High Streets open but then all the banks close. "Then the car parks start charging, then the shops close. People end up going online or to one of the big retailers.' The car park up the road has started to charge £2, so people can no longer park for free, because the council is short of cash. My business rates keep going up. Paul To try to counter the online threat, Paul's shop has a Facebook page and offers a delivery service. He charges £1 for anything under £20 and free delivery on orders over 20 quid. Paul makes just £1.60 on a bag of compost and in 30 years of working at Mogford he has never increased all his prices at once to keep pace with inflation. He raises prices as little as possible and he reluctantly puts a £3 limit on the card machine because of the cost of using it. Paul would have liked his daughter Sophie and grandson James to take over but he decided they would be better off in jobs with a future. Paul remembers walking past Mogford's shop as a boy. He says: 'There was everything round here. 'Clothes shops, shoe shops, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers. You could get every single thing you wanted.' He points across the road to the shops that have closed down — a newsagent's, a women's accessories shop and a shoe repair bar. He says: 'When Covid happened, we were considered an essential business. I will close the doors with a heavy heart Paul 'We extended our hours, opening at 6am and not closing until 9pm because our footfall went up so much with people working from home, and we wanted to help.' When The Sun visited, all morning there was a steady stream of customers coming in to buy goods from washers to dog bowls, super glue to carpet cleaner. Paul knows most of them by name and all seem upset that the shop will be gone in just ten weeks' time. They say it's the latest nail in the coffin for their High Street and they don't know what they'll do when Paul locks up for the final time. He says: 'I will close the doors with a heavy heart. 'It's not for lack of trying either but there's simply nothing I can do. I'm breaking even and have been for a while, so I've been left with no choice.' 5 Paul told The Sun: 'I'm working seven days a week but things have got more expensive. From staffing costs to National Insurance and bank charges' Credit: Jon Rowley
Sky News
43 minutes ago
- Sky News
Welfare cuts vote could be the government's biggest parliamentary test to date
Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, said today that the welfare system was at a crossroads - and that the road she had chosen was the one of "compassion, opportunity and dignity". Dozens of Labour MPs feel that what was promised as a plan to support disabled people into work has instead turned into a cost-cutting exercise to shave £5bn off the budget. Kendall announced the reforms in March, saying that the welfare bill was "spiralling" and "unsustainable". The figures are striking: nine million working-age people are economically inactive. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims per month have doubled in just five years. Many MPs agree the system needs reform, but worry the government is acting without fully thinking through the consequences. Today saw the legislation published - the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - setting out a tightening of criteria for the main disability benefit in England, PIP. It also sets out plans to cut the health element of Universal Credit and delay access to it until age 22. Forty-two Labour MPs have signed a letter saying they cannot support the changes - and the names include newly-elected MPs who have not been critical of the government before. They say concessions, such as a longer grace period before benefits are removed, are not good enough. Cat Eccles, MP for Stourbridge, who spoke to Sky News today, has been on sickness benefits herself - after an unexpected illness saw her forced out of her job. She said she was worried about people who rely on PIP for the costs of working – such as petrol, and those who would lose it, but not be ready for employment. "It's really not good enough because we know so many people this is going to affect," she said. "We know PIP can be a gateway to getting other benefits like carers allowance which really help families just survive. We're not even talking about people having some great lifestyle, they're literally barely surviving on these payments. It all just doesn't feel very Labour to me." Other MPs who have not yet spoken publicly are concerned. "It seems as if we're getting all the bad stuff first – before we hear about the job schemes and child poverty strategy", one said. Several MPs say while the £1bn for tailored support in job centres is welcome, they worry it will not help all those losing out; and they worry about the economic outlook and employers being willing to take people on. Government insiders believe the rebellion can be contained. But it poses a challenge, and both Ms Kendall and Stephen Timms have been devoting time to one-on-one meetings to win around individual MPs. PIP – paid at a basic rate of £73.90 a week at the standard rate, and £110.40 at the enhanced rate – would be restricted from people who do not score four points on the daily living criteria. Disability groups say people who struggle to feed and dress themselves could lose out. 1:34 Kathy Laprell, from Eastbourne, who suffers pain and mobility problems following a serious car accident, has been receiving PIP for nine years. She currently qualifies for the enhanced rate, but fears she would not meet the new criteria and lose £440 a month if reassessed when these changes take effect next year. "People are terrified, we're angry, that yet again we're the scapegoat, we had it with the conservatives for 14 years", she told Sky News. "I use it to help pay for my carer's expenses because I pay her, I use it for petrol for the car so I can get out and about, and obviously extra winter fuel; the increase in bills since April has been astronomical. Losing it would mean I would be at food banks to actually be able to eat. "We're not scroungers. If I could work I would work," she said. 1:23 Yesterday, employment minister Alison McGovern faced down some angry Labour MPs who had called for the money to be taken from the wealthiest instead, saying the government had already put taxes on private schools and private jets, as well as increasing inheritance tax. MPs are also concerned that after spending months defending the decision to slash Winter Fuel Payments from pensioners, the government was forced into a U-turn. With many yet to be convinced, the first vote in two weeks could be the biggest parliamentary test the government has faced yet.
