A member of the Government has addressed public fears that Personal Independent Payments (PIP) could become linked to Uniservial Credit and means-tested. Concerns have been raised by a minister after the Government published its Health and Disability White Paper.
The paper laid out proposed reforms to the benefits system, which included proposed changes such as a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plan to scrap the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). It is though this would encourage people who need to claim benefits back into work, reports LancsLive.
This would mean that instead of undergoing a WCA, the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment would be the only one used to decide whether a person will receive the new Universal Credit health element. With people unsure about what else could change, Minister for Disabled People Tom Pursglove MP has confirmed that “PIP will not be means-tested” and will stay separate from Universal Credit.
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The planned changes in the White Paper are at the proposal stage and will be debated in Parliament before potentially coming into force in 2026-27. WCAs currently provide decisions on whether a person is fit for work for the purpose of their Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit allowance.
Labour MP, Vicky Foxcroft, recently asked DWP about responses to the Health and Disability Green Paper consultation, which proposes “making PIP the sole health-based assessment in the benefits system”, Daily Record reports. In a written response, Mr Pursglove, said: “We heard the views of more than 4,500 people and organisations and discussed our proposals at over 40 public events. In the consultation, people with long-term or chronic health conditions said that they should be assessed less frequently and that the PIP assessment and Work Capability Assessment (WCA) overlapped, leading to additional stress.
“We know that a large number of people who receive a health or disability benefit currently need to complete two applications and undergo two assessments to receive additional support for their disability or health condition.” He added how the consultation revealed that people found these assessments “contained unnecessary duplication and that they caused anxiety and distress.
The DWP Minister explained: “This is, in part, due to a fear that trying work or work-related activity could trigger a repeat assessment that could result in the loss of their benefit entitlement.” He continued: “These issues and barriers cannot be fully resolved by making small changes to the health and disability benefits system, but instead require fundamental changes to the design of the system.”
These themes have been addressed within the White Paper, where the DWP is “committing to remove the financial disincentives that exist within the current system” and “reducing the assessment burden that people currently face”. He added: “We will legislate to remove the WCA so that in future there will only be one health and disability assessment - the PIP assessment. PIP will not be means-tested and will stay separate from Universal Credit.”
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