It has been more than a decade since the introduction of PIP, with the intention that it would provide better targeted support to help disabled people with the extra costs arising from their disability. However, disability and ill health in Britain have changed profoundly since. With almost a quarter of the adult population reporting a disability in 2024, I agree with Ministers that we should reconsider how the benefit system can best support people to live full and independent lives.
Over the coming 5 years, PIP spending is expected to grow by 63% and there are now around 42,000 new awards for PIP per month - compared to 17,000 before the pandemic. With approximately 3.3 to 3.4 million working aged people in receipt of PIP and Disability Living Allowance, we need to better understand how people are using these payments and whether more can be done to help those most in need to live full and independent lives.
The Conservative Government introduced a series of reforms that have brought greater fairness to the welfare system whilst supporting the most vulnerable. We have introduced Universal Credit, a new modern benefit that ensures people are better off in work than on benefits. Our Plan to get Britain Back on Track states welfare reforms that will get people back to work and save £23 billion.
On top of this, following the pandemic and the effects of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, the Conservative Government provided unprecedented help for the most vulnerable in our society with £104 billion in cost-of-living support from 2022-25, one of the largest packages in Europe. This has prevented 1.3 million people from falling into absolute poverty. This included a Disability Cost of Living Payments of £150 in 2022 and 2023. The Energy Price Guarantee saw our government cap and pay half of people’s energy bills when prices were at their highest. In April 2024, we increased benefits by a further 6.7% and raised the Local Housing Allowance, benefiting 1.6 million households by around £800 on average.