Hundreds of thousands of disabled pensioners will no longer have to go through unnecessary reassessments for disability benefits, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd announced yesterday. While charities welcomed the announcement, they argue that the measures just don’t go far enough.
Around 270,000 people receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) who have reached State Pension age will no longer have their awards regularly reviewed, instead moving to a light touch review every 10 years.
The changes are part of a wider package of measures announced by Amber Rudd, signalling a shift in the government’s support for disabled people.
Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “I want to change the landscape for disabled people in Britain. Progress has been made, but we need to do more to close the gap between our intentions and disabled people’s experiences.
“The changes I am setting out today, including stopping unnecessary reassessments for disabled pensioners, are a step forward in improving quality of life for the UK’s 14 million disabled people.
“But we can’t achieve change alone, and I will be guided by disabled people as we work together to provide the opportunities and support they deserve and expect.”
The Work and Pensions Secretary revealed that she will review the government’s goal to see one million more disabled people in work by 2027 with a view to making it more ambitious.
Other improvements include combining the separate assessment processes for PIP, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit into one integrated service from 2021.
The integrated service will simplify the assessment process for millions of people claiming health related benefits, reducing the need to submit information multiple times and for some people reducing the number of face-to-face assessments.
A small-scale test to explore the viability of a single assessment for Work Capability Assessments (WCA) and PIP assessments will also be undertaken.
The government will also work with stakeholders to understand how to help people submit the right evidence with their claim at the outset so that fewer people have to take their case to tribunal.
Mark Hodgkinson, Chief Executive at disability equality charity Scope, said: “It is right that today’s speech from the Secretary of State seeks to address some of the many barriers disabled people face in Britain today, but far more progress needs to be made before disabled people are truly equal. Disabled people will rightly say that these measures don’t go far enough.
“Just last week Scope published research showing that disabled people face a financial penalty of £583 a month, because life costs more if you are disabled. Disabled people tell us every day about the challenges they face as result of a punitive welfare system and about a whole host of barriers to getting into and staying in work.
“At Scope we welcome Amber Rudd’s commitment to review the current goal to get one million disabled people into work: we urge the government to stand by its previous commitment to halve the disability employment gap, which was a more ambitious target.
“If the government is serious about reform, they should move quickly to reform outdated and damaging WCA and PIP assessments.
“Government must ensure disabled people can get the support they need when out of work without the fear of sanctions.
“We hope today’s announcement leads to a shift in how the Government engages and works with the disability community, including more direct engagement with disabled people and Disabled People’s Organisations.
“We urge the Secretary of State to act quickly in addressing these issues so that all disabled people can enjoy equality in society”.
Nasty Party no more? Well, let’s wait and see …
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