Major changes for the disability benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have been put forward by the Government. PIP is awarded to people who have a long-term physical or mental health condition.
It is claimed by almost 3.7 million people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, PIP has been replaced by Adult Disability Payment. There are two parts to PIP – the daily living element and the mobility element. The daily living rate is worth £72.65 a week if you’re awarded the lower rate, or £108.55 a week for the higher rate.
The mobility rate is worth £28.70 a week for the lower rate, or £75.75 a week for the higher rate. But as part of plans to overhaul the welfare system, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced plans to change the eligibility criteria for PIP. Before you can be awarded PIP, you normally need to attend an assessment which will look at how your condition impacts your daily life and your ability to complete everyday tasks, such as washing and getting dressed.
You are scored points based on how difficult you find certain tasks. You currently need between eight and 11 points to get the standard daily living or mobility part of PIP. You get the higher rate if you score 12 points or more. But under changes being consulted on in the new Green Paper that was released this week, you would need a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living part of PIP from November 2026.
This would mean claimants would need to show greater difficulty when completing some tasks, in order to claim the daily living part of PIP. The assessment for the PIP mobility component is not changing. If you’re terminally ill, you normally get PIP automatically without having an assessment.
Other changes to PIP include the majority of assessments being done face-to-face, rather than over the phone or through video. There would be “reasonable adjustments” made for people who cannot attend a face-to-face assessment. The Government would also introduce more frequent reassessments for PIP claims, although the most severely disabled would no longer face reassessments.
PIP is currently awarded for a fixed period of time, normally between nine months and ten years. There were a lot of rumours about other changes that could be introduced to PIP which were not included in the Green Paper. We round up three big things that the Government has confirmed won’t happen to PIP payments.
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Ms Kendall confirmed there are no plans to make PIP means-tested. This means it will continue to be based on how your health condition impacts your life, and not by your income, if you’re in employment, or if you have savings. PIP can be claimed in you are working and if you claim other benefits.
Ms Kendall said in her speech in the House of Commons: “We will not means-test PIP. Because disabled people deserve extra support, whatever their incomes.”
PIP also won’t be frozen at its current rates. It had previously been reported that the Government was considering freezing PIP payment rates for one year. However, it reportedly backtracked on these plans following strong opposition from some Labour MPs. Ms Kendall said: “I can confirm we will not freeze PIP either.”
The previous Government had suggested PIP payments could be replaced by vouchers in the future. However, Ms Kendall confirmed it would not be moving ahead with this idea. The idea of replacing cash payments with vouchers that could go towards equipment, aids or services was initially put forward by the previous Government in a consultation paper last year. Ms Kendall said: “Disabled people should have choice and control over their lives.”
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