Speculation has been growing over the extent of proposals to reform health and disability benefits set to be published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in a new Green Paper this Spring. However, Minister for Social Security and Disabilities, Sir Stephen Timms has confirmed that it will be published, along with a public consultation on the proposals, before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers the Spring Statement.
The UK Government’s fiscal event is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 26 which means people of working age on disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit can expect to see the full list of proposed changes before that date.
Sir Stephen made the comments in a written response to Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley, who asked DWP if it will make it the policy that “all changes to financial support for people who are unwell and disabled people be preceded by a public consultation”.
The DWP Minister responded: “We are working to develop proposals for health and disability reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement. This will launch a public consultation on the proposals.
“This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals, where appropriate, with disabled people and representative organisations.”
Last week, Sir Stephen said that the Health Transformation Programme will modernise health and disability benefit services for all claimants, highlighting how it will “transform the entire PIP service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments”.
Sir Stephen gave the written response after Democratic Unionist Party MP, Gregory Campbell, asked what recent discussions the DWP has had with representatives of people affected by proposed changes to PIP, the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
In the response on January 30, Sir Stephen said: “We believe there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today.
“This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, and with any reform, including the Health and Disability Green Paper we intend to publish in the Spring, we will consult with disabled people and representative organisations.
“Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have already started to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives, including through stakeholder roundtables and public visits, and look forward to progressing these initiatives over the coming months.”
Commenting directly on changes to PIP, Sir Stephen said: “About the PIP service specifically: the Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services, to improve people’s experience of applying for PIP. The Programme will transform the entire PIP service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments
“The Programme communicates and engages frequently with disabled people and external stakeholders – including national charities and other organisations that support people with disabilities – about proposed changes. Their opinions and suggestions are taken on board as we test new iterations of the transformed service.”
It’s important for 80,000 Scots still on PIP due to move to Adult Disability Payment over the next few months to be aware any proposed changes will not affect them as they will be transferred to the devolved IT system.
Last week the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall said that the welfare budget has to be put on a “more sustainable course” as she warned the country could not keep meeting the “costs of failure”.
Ms Kendall blamed the Conservative administrations for failing to control welfare spending. She told the PA news agency: “We’re going to get the benefits bill on a more sustainable course – and it has to be, we cannot accept these costs of failure, failure for individuals, failure for businesses and failure for the economy.
“But the way to do this is to get more people into work through the reforms that we’re putting in place in our Jobcentres and through reform of the benefit system. And we’ll be bringing forward our green paper on reforming sickness and disability benefits in the spring.”
The £137.4 billion welfare cap set by the previous government for 2024/25 is on course to be exceeded by £8.6 billion.
Ms Kendall told PA: “This is our inheritance from the Conservative government. And the Tories failed on welfare because they failed on work.
“We have got almost record numbers of people out of work due to long-term health problems. That’s terrible for them. It’s terrible for their living standards. It’s terrible for employers who want to recruit and it’s terrible for the public finances.
“So we need big reforms in the way that we work to get more people into those jobs, which will help bring the benefits bill onto a more sustainable footing.”
In her major economic growth speech on January 29, Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised “fundamental reform of our welfare system” including “looking at areas that have been ducked for too long like the rising cost of health and disability benefits”.