PIP PAYMENT TO BE OVERHAULED AS SUNAK SHAKES UP THE BENEFITS SYSTEM

Payments for disability support will be overhauled to change who is entitled and how the support is offered, Rishi Sunak has promised.

The Prime Minister has announced a new consultation on the personal independent payment (PIP) which could see the eligibility and assessment process reviewed for people who need support to live with a disability.

The pledge came as part of a package of reforms to make Britain’s benefits system “sustainable and fit for the future” after a major increase in the number of people signed off work, often on the grounds of poor mental health.

PIP is given to disabled people regardless of their financial situation, including many who are in work, and more than 5,000 people every month are newly awarded the benefit – more than double the rate before the pandemic.

Details of the consultation will be published in the next few days, Mr Sunak said in a speech in London. He suggested changes to the rules could include removing ongoing payments for adaptations to people’s homes, replacing them with one-off payments or NHS interventions.

Some claimants will also have their cash payments replaced with medical treatment designed to improve their conditions, the Prime Minister suggested. He said: “This is not about making the welfare system less generous to people who face very real extra costs for mental health conditions.”

2024-04-19T09:05:48Z dg43tfdfdgfd