Charity calls for end to ‘unfair’ uncertainty for PIP claimants

It is “deeply unfair” to leave disabled people facing uncertainty as they wait to find out what changes will be made to their benefits, ministers have been warned.

Rishi Sunak announced last week that he would reform personal independence payments (PIP) to look again at who would be eligible.

The MS society, which campaigns on behalf of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), has urged the Government to provide more clarity for more than three million claimants who receive PIP.

Ministers were told that failing to do so would leave vulnerable people facing “more uncertainty and stress”.

Proposals for reforming the payment – a benefit for those in need of extra support due to a condition or disability – are expected to be set out in a policy paper, published within weeks, which will form the basis of new legislation.

Last week Downing Street was unable to guarantee that should the proposals come into force people currently receiving PIP would keep all of their entitlement.

The changes would not be implemented until after the general election and the Labour Party, which could lead the next government, has not yet said whether it would support reform of the disability payments. Ceri Smith, the MS Society’s head of policy, said: “Nearly 60,000 people with MS currently claim PIP and many have found the application process incredibly stressful.

“Despite the Government’s rhetoric, PIP is not an easy way out, and is vital in helping people with MS meet the extra costs they face as a result of being disabled.

“MS can be debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable and the last thing people with the condition need is more uncertainty and stress – with one person telling us the news from the Prime Minister had made them feel ‘physically sick’.

“While we are told more detail is due imminently, it’s deeply unfair to leave people hanging for several days after such a big announcement.”

The Government had previously announced it would be seeking to replace the work capability assessment process, which considers whether a person is fit for work or not, with the aim of raising the threshold for being signed off sick.

These changes, due to be implemented next year, would mean those with conditions considered by the Department for Work and Pensions to be less severe would be expected to look for work.

The Government was contacted for comment.