DWP Personal Independence Payment cuts won't affect people of this age group
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that the proposed cuts to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) disability and incapacity benefits will not affect those who have reached state pension age, marking a significant relief for older individuals.
In a query raised in the Commons, Paula Barker, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, sought clarity "to ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to Personal Independence Payment on people above over state pension age."
Responding to the question, Sir Stephen Timms stated: "Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. In keeping with existing policy, people of State Pension Age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by the proposed changes."
He further added, "Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in 'Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper'.
"A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.", reports Birmingham Live.
You might be able to make a new claim if you had a PIP award that stopped in the last year or you're getting Disability Living Allowance (DLA) - or it stopped in the last year. You can't claim PIP if you were born before 9 April 1948.
If you can't claim PIP, you might be able to get Attendance Allowance instead. If you claim PIP after State Pension age, there are extra rules about the 'mobility component'. The mobility component is for the extra help you need getting around.
If you claim PIP after State Pension age, the DWP will usually give you an 'indefinite award'. This means there's no end date. They will usually review the award every 10 years.
If you're already getting PIP when you reach State Pension age, the DWP will turn it into an indefinite award.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
New calls to scrap proposed PIP reforms after U-turn on Winter Fuel Payments
Nearly 3.7 million people on PIP will see changes to the disability benefit start from November next year. Labour backbenchers have called for a UK Government U-turn on planned disability benefit reforms, after Chancellor Rachel Reeves restored Winter Fuel Payments to the majority of pensioners in England and Wales. Proposed changes to Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are set to come into force from November next year. Ms Reeves' £1.25 billion plan unveiled on Monday will see automatic payments worth up to £300 given to pensioners with an income less than £35,000 a year. The U-turn will see an estimated 9 million people born before September 22, 1959 receive the one-off payment this winter. Shortly after winning the general election in July, the Labour Government announced its decision to remove the universality of Winter Fuel Payments and only issue the money to those on means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit. Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, warned ministers they risked making a 'similar mistake' if they tighten the eligibility criteria for PIP. Leeds East MP Richard Burgon called on pensions minister Torsten Bell to 'listen now' so that backbenchers can help the UK Government 'get it right'. In her warning, Ms Whittome said she was not asking Mr Bell 'to keep the status quo or not to support people into work' and added: 'I'm simply asking him not to cut disabled people's benefits.' The Pensions Minister, who works in both the Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), replied that the numbers of people receiving PIP is set to 'continue to grow every single year in the years ahead, after the changes set out by this Government'. In its Pathways to Work Green Paper, the UK Government proposed a new eligibility requirement, so PIP claimants must score a minimum of four points on one daily living activity, such as preparing food, washing and bathing, using the toilet or reading, to receive the daily living element of the benefit. The Green Paper states: 'This means that people who only score the lowest points on each of the PIP daily living activities will lose their entitlement in future.' Mr Burgon told the Commons: 'As a Labour MP who voted against the Winter Fuel Payment cuts, I very much welcome this change in position, but can I urge the minister and the Government to learn the lessons of this and one of the lessons is, listen to backbenchers? 'If the minister and the Government listen to backbenchers, that can help the Government get it right, help the Government avoid getting it wrong, and so what we don't want is to be here in a year or two's time with a minister sent to the despatch box after not listening to backbenchers on disability benefit cuts, making another U-turn again.' Mr Bell replied that it was 'important to listen to backbenchers, to frontbenchers'. Opposition MPs cheered when the minister added: 'It's even important to listen to members opposite on occasion.' Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin warned that 'judging by the questions from his own backbenchers, it seems that we're going to have further U-turns on PIP and on the two-child benefit cap'. The Tunbridge Wells MP asked Mr Bell: 'To save his colleagues anguish, will he let us know now when those U-turns are coming?' The minister replied: 'What Labour MPs want to see is a Labour Government bringing down child poverty, and that's what we're going to do 'What Labour MPs want to see is a Government that can take the responsible decisions, including difficult ones on tax and on means testing the winter fuel payment so that we can invest in public services and turn around the disgrace that has become Britain's public realm for far too long.' On Monday, Rachel Reeves said the UK Government would 'crack on' with reforms to PIP. Asked whether there would be more U-turns on PIP or the Child Benefit cap, the Chancellor told Channel 4 News: 'There are 9 million people of working age who are economically inactive. We need to reduce that number. 'We need to provide much better support for people who are sick and disabled to help them back into work. 'These are important reforms that we are going to crack on with, because we need to ensure that as a government we support people to do fulfilling work to help lift families out of poverty and give everybody who can work the dignity of a secure job paying a decent wage.' There are currently 3.7m people across Great Britain in claim for PIP, however, the UK Government expects that figure to rise to 4m by the end of the decade and has proposed a raft of new measures to make the benefit sustainable for future generations. Proposed PIP changes and online consultation Proposed package of reforms to overhaul the welfare system, include: Ending reassessments for disabled people who will never be able to work and people with lifelong conditions to ensure they can live with dignity and security. Scrapping the Work Capability Assessment to end the process that drives people into dependency, delivering on the UK Government's manifesto commitment to reform or replace it. Providing improved employment support backed by £1 billion including new tailored support conversations for people on health and disability benefits to break down barriers and unlock work. Legislating to protect those on health and disability benefits from reassessment or losing their payments if they take a chance on work. To ensure the welfare system is available for those with the greatest needs now and in the future, the UK Government has made decisions to improve its sustainability and protect those who need it most. These include: Reintroducing reassessments for people on incapacity benefits who have the capability to work to ensure they have the right support and are not written off. Targeting PIP for those with higher needs by changing the eligibility requirement to a minimum score of four on at least one of the daily living activities to receive the daily living element of the benefit, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria. Rebalancing payment levels in Universal Credit to improve the Standard Allowance. Consulting on delaying access to the health element of Universal Credit until someone is aged 22 and reinvesting savings into work support and training opportunities through the Youth Guarantee. DWP also launched an online consultation on the new proposals to coincide with the publication of the Green paper. The consultation can be completed by anyone and is open until June 30, 2025 - you can find full details on here. It's important to be aware that the proposed reforms announced by the DWP will not directly affect disability claimants in Scotland currently claiming devolved health-related benefits - unless funding for the Scottish Government is impacted by planned changes by Westminster.
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
MP calls for ‘chronic under-supply' of Gypsy and Traveller sites to be addressed
Mary Kelly Foy said planning decisions on these sites 'have frequently been underpinned by prejudice', with just 30 created over the past 30 years. The MP for City of Durham tabled an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which proposes that Gypsy and Traveller sites are included in spatial development strategies. Speaking in the Commons, she said: 'Today I rise to speak to amendment 134, in my name, that works towards addressing a long-standing and deeply entrenched failure in our planning system, the chronic under-supply of Gypsy and Traveller sites across England. 'And my amendment seeks to increase fairness into the system to enable, rather than hinder, the provision of adequate, culturally appropriate accommodation for Gypsy and Traveller communities. 'For too long, the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers have been overlooked by the planning system.' She added: 'The Government has committed to delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2029, if that ambition is to be truly inclusive, it must include everyone, and that means by making space, literally and politically, for communities who have been moved on, fenced off and forgotten.' Ms Foy said just 30 sites have been created over the past 30 years, adding: 'Decisions on Gypsy and Traveller sites have frequently been underpinned by prejudice, whether overt or institutional. 'Too often, proposed developments are blocked or delayed by local opposition that's not met with political will or leadership. 'Site delivery also suffers from a lack of inclusion at the strategic planning level, where Gypsy and Traveller site provision can be absent from local plans and excluded from land allocations. And this absence isn't an accident, it's a result of years of structural marginalisation that this Bill must now correct.' Ms Foy said the UK is 'seeing a troubling trend' with the number of socially rented pitches declining. She argued that leaving out Gypsy and Traveller sites from future strategies would be 'repeating mistakes of the past'.
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
MP urges Government to protect live music venues from new neighbours' complaints
Dame Caroline Dinenage has proposed letting decision-makers take into account existing properties, when they grant or refuse permission for new projects. The Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee chairwoman warned that 'live music's in crisis, the Government needs to be listening' as she proposed a new clause to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Dame Caroline, the Conservative MP for Gosport, told the Commons: 'It isn't about venues versus developers. 'It's about making sure we have a balance right between building enough good homes and making sure the places we're building keep the things that make life worth living. 'In Westminster and our constituencies, everyone agrees that our high streets have been in decline, so it's vitally important that we protect the places that are special to us, our constituents and our communities, the places that provide a platform for our creators and our world-beating creative industries where we can make memories, celebrate and have fun.' Dame Caroline called on the Government to let town halls and ministers rule on plans 'subject to such conditions that would promote the integration of the proposed development of land with any existing use of land, including such conditions as may be necessary to mitigate the impact of noise on the proposed development'. A similar principle already exists in national planning rules, known as the National Planning Policy Framework, to ease pressure on existing businesses which 'should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on them as a result' of newer builds. But the Music Venue Trust's annual report last year warned that, in 2023, 22.4% of venues closed as a result of 'operational issues', compared with 42.1% of its members reporting 'financial issues'. The Trust identified noise abatement orders or other neighbour disputes as being among the issues which have resulted in permanent closures. 'Consistent application of the 'agent of change' principles will de-risk and speed up planning and development,' Dame Caroline told MPs, and added that her proposal was 'good for venues' and 'good for developers and new neighbours'. She said the law change could help authorities stop 'expensive and often pointless bun fights' when neighbours complain about noise. She continued: 'It'll make sure the needs of an existing cultural venue are considered from the start and it will save developers from late-stage objections and lengthy expensive legal disputes down the line.' Dame Caroline said music venues 'are the foundation of our world-beating creative industries and also very important for our local communities', and that they had been placed 'under threat, including from our disruptive planning system and our onerous licensing regime'. The Commons select committee recommended last year that the 'agent of change' principle should be put on a statutory footing, to protect grassroots music venues.
