The minister charged with overhauling Britain’s main disability benefit has declared it “not fit for purpose” – and said the process of claiming it can be “dehumanising”. Sir Stephen Timms, who is leading a government review of Personal Independence Payments (Pip) in England and Wales, told the BBC that the system needed fundamental change. People applying for the benefit said the assessment was a barrier to work, not a support.
The interim report, published on Thursday, highlights a steep rise in the number of Pip recipients and a forecast surge in spending – from £26bn last year to more than £41bn by 2030. Sir Stephen said the sustainability of that trajectory “would be a concern as we reach these decisions”, though he added: “My view is that the current level of spending is not a great concern. What would be a concern would be if it carried on going up forever more.”
“Minister Sir Stephen Timms says PIP benefit 'not fit for purpose' as cost set to exceed £41bn by 2030.”
The review was commissioned by the UK government last year to examine whether Pip was “fair and fit for the future”. The initial findings, released on Thursday, call for a sweeping overhaul of the assessment system. Under the current system, claimants are scored on a zero-to-12 scale by a health professional on everyday tasks such as washing, getting dressed and preparing food.
Autism awareness campaigner Cheryl Fyfield said the process needed to change. “It can be really hard to even qualify for Pip, let alone go through the process if you do qualify every three years,” she said. “I’m autistic, I’m going to be autistic my whole life, yet every three years I have to go through the gruelling process to be reassessed.”
Sir Stephen acknowledged that disabled people had told the review the assessment can be “dehumanising”. However, he stressed that Pip “does a very important job in helping people meet the additional costs of disability”. His final recommendations are expected in the autumn – and he said he would not make “crude proposals” on payment changes.
Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately accused the government of being “in denial about the seriousness of the situation of our welfare system and the fact that we have to make savings”. With the cost of Pip set to exceed £41bn within four years, the question of how to reform the benefit – and who will pay – remains unresolved.