More than 3.6 million people currently in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) could find out whether proposed changes outlined in the ‘Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper ’ will go ahead under the new Labour Government.
No direct questions on the topic were put to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ministerial team during the oral questions session on Monday, however, it was confirmed that the White Paper to ‘Get Britain Working’ will be published this Autumn and likely due before the Budget on October 30, although no publication date has been announced.
The ‘Get Britain Working’ plan was first announced by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall in July and set out how “Britain’s system of employment support must be fundamentally reformed”. The DWP boss told MPs: “Under this Government’s leadership, the DWP will be honest about the problems that the country faces and focus on the solutions needed to help people build a better life. That starts with our forthcoming White Paper, to ‘Get Britain Working’ again.”
Similarly, when Employment Minister Alison McGovern was asked by fellow Labour MP Johanna Baxter about ensuring the process for “helping disabled people back into work is reformed, to ensure that it is genuinely one of support that allows people to fulfil their potential” she replied that “disabled people have the right to work like everybody else”.
Ms McGovern continued: “We have an ambition to see an 80 per cent employment rate in this country, and we cannot do that without the contribution of people with disabilities.
“We are working on an employment White Paper and developing our policies, and we want everybody in this country to make their full contribution, especially disabled people.”
In another response to a question from Dame Meg Hillier about supporting vulnerable people into work, Minister for Social Security and Disabilities, Sir Stephen Timms, said: “We are committed to supporting vulnerable customers into work. At jobcentres, for example, we can identify the support needed and signpost people to courses or organisations to help them overcome barriers.
“We will be saying more about our proposals in the forthcoming employment White Paper.”
Former DWP minister and now shadow minister, Mims Davies MP, highlighted how the disability action plan mid-year update is “now somewhat overdue” and asked “Can the Minister confirm to the House when there will be a much-needed update? In helping vulnerable people to thrive in all walks of life, whether in employment or in respect of equality of opportunity?”
Sir Stephen replied: “We will be saying more and we will provide an update in the forthcoming ‘Getting Britain Working’ White Paper.”
Proposed PIP reforms
An online consultation on the proposed reform of the benefits system, including scrapping the Work Capability Assessment and having a single tier assessment approach for all benefits, received over 16,000 responses.
Shortly after it closed on July 22, Sir Stephen Timms said that the DWP would review the responses while “considering our own approach to social security in due course”.
Proposed changes include swapping cash PIP payments of up to £737.20 every four-week payment period for a range of other support, including vouchers, one-off grants, a receipt-based scheme or choosing support aids from a catalogue.
Other proposals include amending eligibility for PIP, reviewing the assessment process and passing PIP costs on to the NHS and local authorities.
Alternatives to regular PIP cash payments
The Green Paper explains if DWP were to consider other ways of supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions – apart from providing regular cash payments – it could continue to contribute to people’s extra costs through alternative models.
These include:
- Catalogue/ shop scheme: in this kind of scheme, there would be an approved list from which disabled people could choose items at reduced or no cost. This would likely work better for equipment and aids rather than for services.
- Voucher scheme: in this kind of scheme, disabled people could receive vouchers to contribute towards specific costs. It could work for both equipment/aids and for services.
- A receipt-based system: this would involve claimants buying aids, appliances, or services themselves, and then providing proof of their purchase to claim back a contribution towards the cost. This could work in a similar way to Access to Work, which provides grants for equipment, adaptations, and other costs to help disabled people to start and stay in work.
- One-off grants: these could contribute towards specific, significant costs such as for home adaptations or expensive equipment. It could involve a person supplying medical evidence of their condition to demonstrate the need for equipment or adaptations.
Benefit claimants living in Scotland
It’s important to be aware that the proposed changes will not affect 127,000 people in Scotland currently on PIP or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) as they will be moving to Adult Disability Payment (ADP) before the end of next year.