Wednesday 25 June,
09.30am, Committee Room 6
The cross-party Work and Pensions Committee will question DWP
Minister Sir on the Government's plans to
reform Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Universal Credit
(UC) health benefits in the final session of its Pathways to Work
inquiry.
On Wednesday, the Government published a Bill that is intended to
action restrictions on access to the daily living component of
PIP. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill,
if passed, will also nearly halve the rate of UC health for
future claimants, from £423.27 to £217.26 a month. This will be
partly offset by above-inflation increases in the standard
allowance in every year of this Parliament, as well as
protections for people with the most severe, lifelong conditions
receiving UC health.
The policy is controversial as it will see hundreds of thousands
of people lose at least some of their health-related benefits by
2030 as the Government seeks to rein in welfare costs.
Members of the Committee are likely to ask about the reforms, how
the Government will identify those who have severe conditions and
are entitled to protections with the Work Capability Assessment
due to be replaced, and the impact they will have on people whose
payments are reduced. The Minister is also likely to be
challenged on the limited consultation process for the Pathways
to Work Green Paper that initially outlined the welfare reform
proposals.
The number of claimants of PIP, which helps with the costs of
extra care or other needs that come from having a disability
whether or not they are in work, is forecast by the DWP
to rise from 3 million working-age people to more than 4 million
by the end of the decade, potentially adding a further £12
billion in costs.
Witnesses
From 09.30am:
Rt Hon Sir MP, Minister for Social
Security and Disability, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP);
Katherine Pateman, Deputy Director, Disability Benefits Division,
Policy Group, DWP
Shaun Butcher, Deputy Director, Disability Lead Analyst, DWP.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Stats and forecasts from DWP:
PIP claimants of working age in 2024-25: 3 million (cost £21.8
billion)
PIP claimants of working age forecast in 2029-30: 4.2 million
(estimated cost (£34.1 billion)
Incapacity benefit claimants increased from 2.6 million in
2019-20 to 3.3 million in 2023-24.
Universal Credit Health
Universal Credit Health is currently worth £423.27 per month for
people who have been assessed as having limited capability for
work related activity. This is on top of the ‘standard rate',
currently £400.14 per month for a single person 25 or over.
The Green Paper proposes lifting the standard rate by £7 a week
while freezing the health element of UC at £97 per week for
current claimants until 2029-30 and reducing it for new claimants
to initially £47 per week.
