The Sun newspaper reports PIP claimants, those with severe, long-term conditions will no longer need to undergo reassessments, offering more stability.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ changes and cuts coming to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit have seemingly been leaked – HOURS before Liz Kendall delivers her address in the Commons.
From 12.30pm, Labour Party MP Ms Kendall will announce all. The Sun newspaper reports PIP claimants, those with severe, long-term conditions will no longer need to undergo reassessments, offering more stability.
But those with less severe conditions might face stricter eligibility criteria, potentially resulting in reduced or lost benefits. Changes to Universal Credit include what the newspaper has branded a “modest increase” to the basic rate.
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There will also be a “right to try” scheme, enabling disabled claimants to try out employment without the risk of losing their benefits if the job doesn’t work out long-term. The Government plans to abolish Work Capability Assessments (WCA), too.
This is the current method used to assess a claimant’s capacity to work when applying for Universal Credit. It comes as Labour Party MP Pat McFadden says Labour has ‘duty’ to reform welfare system because it was elected ‘on platform of change’
Asked what he would say to backbenchers minded to vote against the plans, he replied: “Look, I’m not going to deny that in the history of the Labour party, these issues about welfare and support have sometimes been difficult.
“But when you get elected on a platform of change, and when you tell the public, the electorate, that you believe you have inherited a situation which needs change, then my message to any colleague in that position is, we have a duty to make those changes. It was the word on our manifesto.
“And part of the change that we need is a welfare state that is better suited to the 21st century, that is sustainable for the future, that is there for people who need it, and that puts work at the heart of it.
“And that is fully in line with the values of the Labour party.” McFadden told BBC Breakfast: “I don’t want to pre-empt what the announcement will be but I think for people in circumstances where it’s clear they can never work and are not going to get better, and in fact it might be a degenerative condition that gets progressively worse, then people should look out for how that’s treated in today’s announcement, because I think those kind of conditions will feature today.
“And obviously you’re not going to treat somebody in those circumstances the same way as someone whose condition might be temporary and with a bit of support they could go into work.”