All the ways disability benefit rules could be tightened in DWP crackdown ...Middle East

The Government is set to announce this week the details of its major overhaul of the sickness and disability benefits system, which aims to reduce the spiralling cost of the welfare bill.

Much of these changes will focus on reforming personal independence payments (PIP), which currently make up the largest proportion of the working-age benefits bill and are expected to cost the taxpayer £34bn by 2029-30.

It has been estimated that the system changes could affect up to one million people as the Treasury tries to make £6bn in savings to help the Chancellor meet her tight fiscal rules.

The reforms are expected to cut benefits so that only the most severely disabled people will qualify, denying payments to many people with mental health conditions and to some of those who struggle to wash, dress themselves and eat depending on certain criteria.

Here, The i Paper looks at how the eligibility rules for sickness and disability benefits could be changed.

It is being widely reported that the Government is considering cutting the cost of PIP to the Treasury by tightening the eligibility criteria regarding who can claim it.

Currently, PIP applicants are given points based on the difficulties they face with performing certain activities.

There are 10 categories for the daily living component of PIP and two for the mobility component, with between zero and 12 points awarded for each depending on the difficulties faced by the claimant.

Among the daily activities considered include their ability to prepare and eat food, wash themselves effectively, go to the bathroom, get dressed, communicate with others, manage their health condition, and make decisions about money.

For the mobility component, claimants are assessed on their ability to move around unaided and undertake a journey.

The total score for each component decides whether the claimant can receive the standard rate or enhanced rate, with annual payments ranging from £1,500 to £9,600.

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Under present rules, claimants who score between eight and 11 points on either component get the standard rate, while those scoring over 12 get the enhanced rate.

However, it has been reported that the Government is considering reforming these thresholds by requiring claimants to score at least four points on one activity before they are eligible for PIP.

Currently, the eight-point threshold can be reached by scoring two points on only four of the 10 categories for the daily living component.

This score can presently be reached if an individual needs prompting to engage with others and requires aids to wash, dress, and use the bathroom.

However, the new threshold means that those who need help cooking a meal would qualify, but those who are able to use a microwave would not.

Needing help to wash your hair or the lower half of your body would not be sufficient to qualify, but requiring help to wash your upper body would.

Reforming universal credit

The Government is planning to reform or replace the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), which could require many people with long-term conditions to seek work or risk losing their benefits.

This is the test used to decide someone’s fitness to work and their access to universal credit or employment and support allowance (ESA).

Currently, a single person on universal credit who is deemed fit to work receives £311.68 or £393.45 a month, depending on their age. This depends on following rules like applying for jobs and interacting with Jobcentre support.

However, a person deemed to have limited work capability currently receives an extra £416.19 a month on top of that.

There have been reports that ministers are also expected to reduce the amount paid to the “limited capability for work-related activity” (LCWRA) group of universal credit claimants.

Around 1.8 million, or 71 per cent, of universal credit claimants with a health condition or disability are currently in the LCWRA category as of December 2024.

Plans to reform or scrap the WCA, meanwhile, are set to be delayed after the High Court ruled in January that the DWP’s consultation on tightening up the criteria was “unlawful” and “misleading”.

The court upheld a complaint that the consultation did not properly explain that many people would receive significantly less money under the reforms and would need to meet more conditions to receive payments.

As a result, changes to the WCA are set to be announced separately from the Government’s upcoming Green Paper on benefits reforms.

As part of efforts to encourage more people off sickness and disability benefits and into work, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is expected to announce legislation to introduce a “right to try guarantee” for benefits claimants.

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This new approach would prevent people receiving health-related benefits from having their entitlements automatically re-assessed if they enter employment.

According to reports, the DWP has made the move in response to surveys suggesting disabled people and those with long-term health conditions fear they will not get their benefits back if they try employment, but it does not work out.

The chance will likely see more benefit claimants with long-term conditions encouraged to try out a job if they are able, as a recent DWP survey found 200,000 people receiving health-related or disability benefits were ready to work if the right job or support was available.

This move will likely be seen as a concession to Labour MPs, many of whom have expressed opposition to the Government’s plans to cut the benefits bill.

Rachel Reeves was reportedly challenged during a Cabinet meeting last week over her approach to slashing welfare amid speculation that proceeding with the plans could lead to ministerial resignations.

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