Disability charity Scope is calling for urgent reform of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed that it does “not intend to publish a response to the previous Government’s consultation”. Minister for Social Security and Disabilities, Sir Stephen Timms, gave the written response to Lib Dems Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain, who asked if the DWP planned to respond to the consultation, published by the then Conservative government.
The ‘Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability’ Green Paper aimed to cut £12billion from the welfare bill each year until 2030. Proposals in the consultation included 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 included amending eligibility for PIP, reviewing the assessment process and passing PIP costs on to the NHS and local authorities.
It’s important to be aware that the DWP has not directly ruled out the proposals, however, Sir Stephen also confirmed that over 16,000 responses to the consultation were received which were “mixed and for some proposals consistently negative”.
In response to his comments, James Taylor, Director of Strategy at disability equality charity Scope said: “It’s a relief that the government is rightly scrapping these dangerous proposals. They have created enormous amounts of anxiety for disabled people and their families
“These plans to introduce vouchers and make it harder to get PIP would have had a devastating impact. Pushing disabled people further into poverty would worsen their conditions. It would make disabled people more isolated.”
He also highlighted how household running costs for someone with a disability are far higher – an average of £1,010 is needed every month. However, he added that the disability benefit needs to be reformed.
Mr Taylor explained: “PIP is in urgent need of reform, and with energy bills having risen again this month, we need urgent action. The government needs to listen and work with disabled people to fix our broken benefits system. We also need to see the introduction of discounted energy bills.”
In a separate, but similar question, Independent MP Alex Easton asked the DWP if it would be making an assessment of the potential impact of replacing PIP cash payments with vouchers on disabled people, outlined in the consultation green paper.
In a written response on October 14, Sir Stephen explained that the responses (over 16,000) ‘demonstrated the depth of feeling about this important policy area’.
He continued: “The consultation explored a range of policy proposals developed by the previous Government, including options for alternatives to cash support.
“We will be considering our own plans for social security in due course. As we develop proposals, we will consider the potential impacts of reform on disabled people.
“This Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and people with health conditions, and to the principle of working with disabled people so that their views and voices are at the heart of all that we do.”
Proposed alternatives to PIP cash payments
The Green Paper explained how the DWP, under the Conservative government, were looking at other ways of supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
These included:
- 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.