A disability benefit that costs taxpayers £26bn a year has been branded “not fit for purpose” by the minister leading its review, who said the assessment process could be “dehumanising” and create barriers to work.
Sir Stephen Timms, the disability minister, told the BBC that Personal Independence Payments (Pip) in England and Wales needed fundamental change. His interim report, published on Thursday, found that people applying for the benefit described the process as “dehumanising”.
“PIP disability benefit 'not fit for purpose' and assessments 'dehumanising', review finds”
“My view is that the current level of spending is not a great concern,” Sir Stephen said. “What would be a concern would be if it carried on going up forever more.”
Spending on Pip cost £26bn last year and is forecast to rise to more than £41bn by 2030, according to the review. The number of claimants has doubled from two million before the Covid pandemic to more than four million today, with 400,000 added since Labour came to power. By 2030, more than 4.6 million people are expected to receive the benefit.
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”.
The review highlights a steep increase in Pip recipients, including a 40% rise in ADHD benefit claims to 100,000 in the last two years. Sir Stephen attributed this to changes in “our understanding of disability … post-Covid and so on”.
Autism awareness campaigner Cheryl Fyfield said the assessment process needed to change. “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,” she said.
The interim report suggests a sweeping overhaul of the assessment system. Ministers are considering replacing cash payments for some claimants with therapy, employment support, quicker NHS treatment or specialised equipment, The i Paper understands. Sir Stephen said his final report, due in the autumn, would not make “crude proposals” on payment changes.
The question now is whether the government can balance the rising cost of Pip with the fundamental changes disabled people say are urgently needed.