The daily living assessment for PIP is made up of 10 categories, each one looking at how safely, quickly and efficiently you can do daily activities, with a new rule possibly making thousands ineligible
Each year, three million Brits receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP), amounting to £21.8 billion.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall has proposed additional qualifying criteria for the daily living assessment in an attempt to reduce this expenditure, potentially making thousands ineligible. The daily living assessment evaluates how safely, quickly, and efficiently you can perform 10 daily activities. Each activity carries a different number of points, ranging from six to 12.
Your score is determined by how safely, quickly, and efficiently you can carry out the activity, and your points for all the activities are totalled to get your score. According to Turn2Us, you currently need to score at least eight points to qualify for the standard daily living rate of £72.65 a week.
If you get 12 or more you may be eligible for the enhanced rate at £108.55 a week. Kendall’s changes will mean people still have to get these minimums to qualify, but they now also have to get at least four points in a single activity.
Essentially, to claim PIP in the future, people will have to show a higher level of impairment in at least one category as Wales Online noted. For most of the categories, four points are only awarded if you need help from another person or special aids in order to safely and efficiently do the task.
Activities in the daily living assessment include:
- Preparing food
- Eating and drinking
- Managing your treatments
- Washing and bathing
- Using the toilet and managing incontinence
- Dressing and undressing
- Talking, listening and understanding
- Reading
- Mixing with other people
- Managing money
If the Green Paper is put into action, these changes will start in November 2026. At the moment it’s unclear what will happen to people who are receiving PIP now but don’t meet the new planned criteria.
Consultations are currently underway to see if there could be a type of support or different entitlement for these people. Like a transitional protection which is currently in place for migrating from legacy benefits to Universal Credit.
These changes will also only impact the daily living assessment. So those claiming or applying for the mobility component should not be affected
At the moment, people are paid a standard rate of £72.65 a week or an enhanced payment of £108.55 a week depending on the extent of their disability. As well as this, people can also get a supplementary mobility payment of £28.70 or £75.75 at the enhanced level every week.
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