The government has initiated a review of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a key benefit for individuals with long-term health conditions or disabilities, as part of Labour’s cost-cutting benefit reforms.
Confirming the review, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will engage with disabled individuals and relevant organisations to explore potential adjustments to eligibility criteria.
Currently, approximately 3.7 million people across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland receive PIP, a benefit designed to assist those facing challenges due to long-term physical or mental health issues.
Changes to the health-related benefit formed the bulk of savings in Labour’s ‘Pathways to Work’ Green Paper, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projecting that anticipated changes could impact around 800,000 recipients. However, some independent experts predict the impacts could be even greater.
The announcement has prompted calls from several Labour MPs for Ms Kendall to release an impact assessment detailing the potential consequences of these changes, as they will likely be expected to vote on the measures before this become available. Around 40 are now expected to mount a rebellion against the plans when they are presented to Parliament.
Ms Kendall said: “Personal independence payments is a crucial benefit that makes a contribution towards the extra costs of living with a disability.
“I know how anxious many people are when there’s talk about reform, but this Government wants to ensure PIP is fair for people who need it now and into the future.
“In our Green Paper we promised to review the PIP assessment, working with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. And I can tell the House we are starting the first phase of that review today.
“My right honourable friend, the minister for social security and disability is going to be inviting in stakeholders this week to develop the scope, and terms of reference for this review. We will keep the House updated as this work progresses.”
Labour MP Imran Hussain (Bradford East) said 41,000 disabled people in his constituency would be affected. He told MPs many of them were “rightly horrified” by Ms Kendall’s policy.
He drew attention to the change which means people will now need to score four points on an individual disability assessment category, which can indicate difficulties with parts of day-to-day life.
Mr Hussain said: “The four-point rule has the potential to devastate the lives of tens of thousands of people in Bradford overnight. These plans would take away the vital lifeline from those with the greatest need, living in the most deprived areas, often. I cannot support any cuts that worsen inequality in places like Bradford.
“So I say to the minister, in absolute sincerity, please listen to the growing calls, in this place and out there, to scrap these unfair cuts and instead do the right thing by taxing the super rich so they can pay their fair share?”
Ms Kendall replied: “I hear very clearly what my honourable friend says, but I also want to be clear to the House – for people who can never work, we want to protect them. For disabled people who can work, we want to support them.
“The truth is that if you are a disabled person and in work, you are half as likely to be poor than if you are out of work. We want to improve people’s chances and choices by supporting those who can work, to do so, and protecting those who cannot.”
The changes, which are part of a package of measures that could save £5 billion-a-year by the end of the decade, were announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in March. They include the reintroduction of reassessments for people on incapacity benefits, alongside improved support aimed at ensuring claimants “aren’t indefinitely written off”.
In a bid to to focus personal independence payments (PIP) on those with higher needs, eligibility requirements would be tightened from November 2026 for the “daily living element” of the benefit.
Mr Hussain’s party colleagues Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) and Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) said ministers should be transparent about how current claimants will be affected.
Richard Burgon (Leeds East) warned they could be pushed into poverty, and said it “flew in the face of what a Labour government is meant to do”.
Mr Juss said: “Can my right honourable friend please outline what analysis has been done to understand how the changes proposed in the pathways to work Green Paper will affect those who rely on PIP not just for employment support, but for their daily living and mobility needs?”
Work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms said: “We are determined to open up opportunities for people who have been out of work, often for a long time, on health and disability grounds, give them the chance through much better employment support to get into work, but we recognise there will be people who will not be able to work and will never be able to work.”
He said those with the most severe lifelong conditions will qualify for the new universal credit health element from April next year.
