The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that intends to overhaul the disability benefits service as it bids to battle an £8bn overspend.
The DWP’s Health Transformation Programme is set to make big changes to the welfare stystem, which will have a knock-on effect for claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disabilities, declared that the scheme will “transform the entire PIP service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments”.
It comes after news that the previous government’s £137.4 billion welfare cap for 2024/25 is projected to be surpassed by £8.6 billion. The reforms are set to be announced ahead of the Spring Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves on March 26.
Sir Stephen provided a written statement in response to inquiries made by Gregory Campbell, Democratic Unionist Party MP, on the discussions held with those influenced by adjustments to PIP, Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA). 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.
The DWP will announce plans to ‘transform the entire PIP service’ this month. (Image: Getty)
“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.”
What will change about PIP?
Speaking directly about changes to PIP, Sir Stephen stated: “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.”
Sir Stephen Timms has promised big changes (Image: Getty)
Earlier this year, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall stated that the welfare budget needs to be set on a “more sustainable course”, warning that the country cannot continue to bear the “costs of failure”. The DWP chief, who will introduce extensive reforms to health and disability benefits this spring, emphasised the need to transition more people from welfare into employment, reports the Daily Record.
Ms Kendall criticised Conservative governments for their inability to manage welfare spending. Speaking to the PA news agency, she said: “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.”
Liz Kendall hit out at the previous Tory government (Image: Getty)
On the welfare cap, 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 significant economic growth speech on January 29, Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged “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”.
