Councils and NHS could face millions in extra costs due to disability benefit cuts

Up to 1.2m people could lose their Pip benefit when their needs are reassessed. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The government’s plans to cut at least £5bn from disability benefits could end up driving more costs on to cash-strapped councils, according to campaigners and local government officials.

Last week, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall published a green paper including a package of cuts to disability benefits. Up to 1.2 million fewer people could be eligible for Pip by 2029/30 as a result of the changes, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank, including existing claimants losing their benefits when their needs are reassessed.