Changes begin for disability benefit

Disability Living Allowance replaced by PIP scheme

 People with disabilities will eventually all move over to the new PIP system

Major changes to disability benefits for new claimants are being introduced in some areas of the country ahead of a nationwide rollout of the new measures.

It is the start of the replacement of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) by Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the “ridiculous” system under which people were awarded benefit with no further checks must end.

But charity Scope says the changes have been designed just to save money.

That claim has been denied by the government, which says spending will not be reduced, but more help will be given to those who need it most.

PIPs will be introduced gradually for new claimants, starting in northern England.

Scope says 600,000 people will eventually lose their financial support.

Margaret Allen, who is registered blind: ‘People need disability payment’

The changes to disability benefits are the latest in a round of welfare reforms introduced at the start of April.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that more than 70% of claimants get DLA for life

But ministers believe the circumstances of some individuals can improve over time, so there is a case for more regular assessment.

Mr Duncan Smith told the Daily Mail: “Seventy per cent of people on it have lifetime awards which means no one sees you ever again. It doesn’t matter if you get better or your condition worsens – it’s quite ridiculous.”

He added: “Taxpayers pay out £50bn in sickness and disability benefits – we’re ahead of pretty much every other major country in the G20.

“So this is not exactly what you would call harsh – this is quite reasonable to get it back under control and stop the unnecessary growth levels and make sure people who seriously need it get better payments and people who don’t will get less.”

DLA was introduced in 1992 by the Conservative Prime Minister John Major, who described it as “the right thing to do”.

But Minister for Disabled People Esther McVey said the PIP would give more targeted support than DLA, which had seen the number of claimants increase from 1.1m people in 1992 to more than 3m today.

“Disability Living Allowance is an outdated benefit introduced over 20 years ago and needs reform to better reflect today’s understanding of disability,” she said.

“At the moment the vast majority of claimants get the benefit for life without any systematic reassessments and around 50% of decisions are made on the basis of the claim form alone – without any additional corroborating medical evidence.

“The Personal Independence Payment will include a new face-to-face assessment and regular reviews – something missing in the current system. This will ensure the billions we spend give more targeted support to those who need it most.”

Phased introduction

New claimants in the north of England will now begin face-to face assessments with Atos one of two companies administering the process.

From June new claims will be treated under the PIP system in the rest of the country – and in October some of those currently receiving DLA will start moving to the new system, if there is a change in their circumstances or an existing award ends.

But it will be two years before most of the 3.3 million existing claimants begin moving over to PIP.

Margaret Allen, from Chadderton in Lancashire, who is registered blind with the hereditary eye disorder Retinitis pigmentosa, is unable to work.

She is worried that the change in the system will cause her to lose money for petrol, which she and her husband need to get around.

“My message to the government would be: ‘Stop persecuting the entire sick and disabled population for a handful of people and listen.

“‘I appreciate there’s fraudsters out there, but they are a minority. People need it, they paid taxes.'”

Disability groups have argued that DLA is one of the most effectively targeted benefits, with an estimated fraud rate of just 0.5%.

Scope says DLA does need to be reformed but the new changes mean a “financial lifeline is being cut”.

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of Scope, said: “Day-to-day life can be more expensive if people are disabled. These are tough times for everybody and times are even tougher if your everyday life experience is more expensive.

“The assessment itself has been designed to achieve a budget target of the reductions that the government talked about in the Comprehensive Spending Review. They said there was going to be a 20% reduction, then developed an assessment that will deliver that.

“The assessment looks at an individual’s condition, the health or medical condition of an individual, it doesn’t look at what the fuller picture is and what the additional cost might be of being a disabled person.”

Ms McVey denied that the government had any targets to reduce spending.

“We will be spending more in 2015-16 than we are spending now, and it will remain at approximately £13bn every year, so what the difference is and what the big reduction is in is actually in the growth of the number of people getting the benefit, which had gone up 35% in 10 years,” she said.

She added that the changes are “about the fact that we couldn’t have, by 2018, one in 17 people in the public on the benefit”.

Another change introduced on Monday is that working-age benefits and tax credits will now be increased by 1% annually. Disability benefits, though, will continue to be uprated inline with inflation.

Other changes to the benefits system include the Universal Credit scheme, which will replace benefits including income support and housing benefit with a single payment.

The first trial of the system begins on 29 April in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

Other changes came into place on 1 April, including a cap of £26,000 of benefits per household and payment reductions for those deemed to have a “spare bedroom”.

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