The Prime Minister is right to acknowledge that the welfare system, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), needs reform. However, reform should not start by cutting billions of pounds in support for society’s most vulnerable. Moving the goalposts for PIP eligibility will do nothing to help or encourage people into work.
PIP is a modest weekly payment designed to cover some of the added costs of living with a disability, helping with daily activities and mobility. The government’s decision to cut PIP by £5 billion is not a strategy for getting disabled people back into work—PIP eligibility is not linked to employment status. In fact, reducing or restricting financial support may make it even harder for those who can work to transition back into employment.
Limiting access to PIP will only shift the burden onto already overstretched services such as the NHS, social care, and local government—services that have already endured 14 years of austerity.
While we acknowledge the government’s proposed changes to PIP’s daily living entitlement, the current assessment criteria are not designed with these changes in mind. Setting the eligibility threshold at four points per activity, while keeping the existing assessment descriptors, raises the bar too high and may risk excluding many disabled people with significant needs. For example, individuals who need home dialysis, or need help washing and dressing could be denied the support they currently rely on. A comprehensive review of the eligibility criteria is needed to ensure a fair and correct assessment of disability.
We are also deeply concerned about the proposed exclusion of 18-21-year-olds from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). A government that recently pledged to end age-based discrimination in minimum wages should not be creating a two-tier system of disability support based on age.
There is neither a moral nor an economic case for these reforms. Cutting PIP will not lower costs for taxpayers, will not improve employment rates, and will not address the genuine issues within the system. We fully support many of the proposed changes, such as the Right to Try, the recording of assessments, and the review of the assessment process. However, we must go further by better integrating the NHS, a new National Care Service, local government, and the DWP to create a system that genuinely supports those in need.
Like so many of the challenges this country faces, we believe what is needed is a plan for sustainable, long-term investment. The government must explore creative, alternative ways to generate funding and ensure that those who need support are not left behind.
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Statement on ‘Pathways to Work’ Green Paper
The Prime Minister is right to acknowledge that the welfare system, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), needs reform. However, reform should not start by cutting billions of pounds in support for society’s most vulnerable. Moving the goalposts for PIP eligibility will do nothing to help or encourage people into work.
PIP is a modest weekly payment designed to cover some of the added costs of living with a disability, helping with daily activities and mobility. The government’s decision to cut PIP by £5 billion is not a strategy for getting disabled people back into work—PIP eligibility is not linked to employment status. In fact, reducing or restricting financial support may make it even harder for those who can work to transition back into employment.
Limiting access to PIP will only shift the burden onto already overstretched services such as the NHS, social care, and local government—services that have already endured 14 years of austerity.
While we acknowledge the government’s proposed changes to PIP’s daily living entitlement, the current assessment criteria are not designed with these changes in mind. Setting the eligibility threshold at four points per activity, while keeping the existing assessment descriptors, raises the bar too high and may risk excluding many disabled people with significant needs. For example, individuals who need home dialysis, or need help washing and dressing could be denied the support they currently rely on. A comprehensive review of the eligibility criteria is needed to ensure a fair and correct assessment of disability.
We are also deeply concerned about the proposed exclusion of 18-21-year-olds from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). A government that recently pledged to end age-based discrimination in minimum wages should not be creating a two-tier system of disability support based on age.
There is neither a moral nor an economic case for these reforms. Cutting PIP will not lower costs for taxpayers, will not improve employment rates, and will not address the genuine issues within the system. We fully support many of the proposed changes, such as the Right to Try, the recording of assessments, and the review of the assessment process. However, we must go further by better integrating the NHS, a new National Care Service, local government, and the DWP to create a system that genuinely supports those in need.
Like so many of the challenges this country faces, we believe what is needed is a plan for sustainable, long-term investment. The government must explore creative, alternative ways to generate funding and ensure that those who need support are not left behind.
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