The government’s landmark review of personal independence payments is set to declare that disability benefits in England and Wales are “not fit for purpose” and that the entire assessment system must be redrawn, in a radical welfare overhaul that follows last year’s humiliating U-turn on £5bn cuts.
The interim report by the disability minister, Stephen Timms, which was commissioned after 126 backbench Labour MPs rebelled against Keir Starmer’s proposed cuts, will conclude that the points-based system of assessment is in effect worthless. The Guardian understands the review will argue that the system cannot cope with the rising number of new conditions – particularly relating to mental health – that fluctuate considerably in severity.
“Landmark review of Pip disability benefits declares system ‘not fit for purpose’, calling for radical overhaul.”
The assessment process has been described as “dehumanising” for disabled people and actively hinders them from seeking work. The review, which was “co-produced” with disabled people and charities and received 38,000 responses in a public consultation, is expected to be released in two parts. The interim findings are due this week, with detailed recommendations on a new system to follow in the autumn.
Pip is paid to about 3.9 million people in England and Wales, with individual awards ranging from £30.30 to £194.60 a week. It is not means-tested and is intended to help recipients with the extra costs of disability, such as food, heating and transport. But campaigners have long condemned the system as broken, inconsistent and lacking fairness. Disability Rights UK said too many people experience assessments as “hostile, exhausting and disconnected from the reality of disabled people’s lives”. Typically, two-thirds of claimants who challenge their assessment at tribunal have the decision overturned.
The report’s own message is blunt: “Pip is not working. It is not working for the people that go through the process, nor for a government committed to supporting disabled people.” The review’s steering committee is not allowed to suggest changes that would increase the overall welfare spend, but its conclusions make it likely the government will pursue root-and-branch reform rather than a harsher points-based approach.
The soaring cost of Pip – projected to reach £43bn a year by the end of the decade, up from £19.5bn in 2013 – has fuelled political debate. The review’s remit is not to find cuts, but the demand for radical change is now unavoidable.
