DWP plans for PIP funds emerge after advantages invoice to be reduce by £5billion

Warning bells are ringing over the future of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) budget as experts reveal that the benefit could face strict new criteria

Alarm bells are ringing as whispers of Labour’s potential plans to take a £5 billion axe to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) budget are circling. This benefit helps out 3.6 million folks, offering financial assistance for disabilities affecting both workers and non-workers.

Accrding to reports, qualifying for PIP might get tougher with new, stingier rules being mulled over to save some pennies. ITV’s been chatting about a possible freeze on PIP payments next year, which would mean no bump up with inflation – a proper break from the usual way of doing things.

The Policy Exchange think tank, known for leaning to the right, has lobbed in a paper calling for “major reform” of PIP. They’re banging the drum for making it a “conditional” benefit, especially for the people aged 16 to 30. Their big idea is to slap on conditions like job hunting or hitting the books or training courses, unless extraordinary circumstances arise.

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But the experts are having none of it, kicking back against these notions. They’re quick to remind us that PIP’s there to help cover the extra costs disability brings, not as bait for job seekers, since it’s not tied to unemployment benefits per se, reports the Mirror.

Labour’s current game plan is under fire for contradicting its stated goal of ramping up employment. James Taylor, an Executive Director at Scope,, the charity championing disability equality, said: “Ripping PIP away will be catastrophic for disabled people. PIP exists because life costs more if you are disabled. Those costs won’t disappear if the government squeezes eligibility.

“Many disabled people use PIP to get to and from work and to pay for essential equipment like mobility aids. Making it harder to get benefits will just push even more disabled people into poverty, not into jobs. The Chancellor has a choice – cut benefits and increase poverty, or invest in an equal future for disabled people. Making the wrong choice will have a devastating impact on disabled people and their families.”

Meanwhile, the fate of certain benefit elements hangs in the balance:

As Brits hold their breath for Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on March 26, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is keeping mum on any specific tweaks to benefits. Adding fuel to the fire, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall recently stirred the pot by slamming those choosing benefits over work as taking the mickey out of the system.

A report commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed that nearly half of those on health and disability benefits reckon they’ll never work again. But Ms Kendall reckons this attitude isn’t surprising, what with many folks stuck in long queues for treatment and job centres not giving them the backup they need.

In a bid to turn things around, the DWP is rolling out 1,000 work coaches across jobcentres up and down the country to help sick and disabled people bag a job. This shake-up is just the warm-up act for the much-awaited Green Paper, as the government aims to fix a benefits system that’s riddled with problems.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP, commented: “We inherited a broken welfare system that is failing sick and disabled people, is bad for the taxpayer, and holding the economy back. For too long, sick and disabled people have been told they can’t work, denied support, and locked out of jobs, with all the benefits that good work brings.”

Yet, she also recognised that with the proper backing, many individuals with illnesses or disabilities could indeed hold down a job: “But many sick and disabled people want and can work, with the right support. And we know that good work is good for people – for their living standards, for their mental and physical health, and for their ability to live independently.

“We’re determined to fix the broken benefits system as part of our Plan for Change by reforming the welfare system and delivering proper support to help people get into work and get on at work, so we can get Britain working and deliver our ambition of an 80% employment rate.”

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