In April the previous government announced proposals to change Personal Independence Payment (PIP). These changes included some harmful ideas. The proposals were launched alongside a damaging narrative about disabled people. Particularly about people with mental health conditions.

Since then we’ve had a general election and a change of government. While the government changed, the consultation on PIP continued. It closed on 22 July. The new Government will now review the evidence submitted and decide what to do next.

With the consultation now closed we wanted to provide a brief update. Scope’s response to the consultation included the stories of disabled people impacted by the proposals. We gave evidence to challenge the government’s attitudes to PIP. We also suggested some alternative changes that would improve PIP rather than restrict it.

What is PIP?

PIP is a benefit to help with the extra costs disabled people face in life, whether they’re in work or not. The PIP assessment is not meant to assess someone’s capability to work. It’s to capture the extra costs disabled people face in life.

The typical PIP payment is roughly £135 a week, although it varies based on circumstances. It is not means tested, so disabled people can claim it regardless of income or whether they are working.

To get PIP you need to have a long-term health condition or impairment that means you have difficulty doing everyday tasks or getting around. If you think you should get PIP, check our article to see if you qualify: PIP criteria.

What changes were proposed?

The previous Government proposed several damaging changes to PIP. This was done to try to cut benefit spending.

The consultation included a proposal to introduce PIP vouchers. Vouchers were proposed as an alternative to cash payments. We argued that shifting payments away from cash would further demonise disabled people.

The cash system allows us to adapt our spending. This means we can quickly change to reflect fluctuating needs, changes in prices, or changes in circumstances. Alternatives, like vouchers, would limit this too much.

Our evidence also showed that government vouchers often go unused. This is mainly because it can be difficult to cash them.

One of our biggest concerns was the narrative around mental health. The previous Government suggested people with mental health conditions have lower extra costs. This is not supported by the evidence.

They also suggested PIP is too easy to access for people with mental health conditions. The truth is, some of the most likely to be rejected for PIP are people with mental health conditions. They also tend to get lower awards.

How we think PIP should change

We consistently challenged the previous Government’s proposals. At the same time we wanted to propose alternatives which improve PIP. Our evidence shows disabled people need more support, not less. We argued that PIP should offer more so it covers disabled people’s essential spending.

We also called for an end to suspicion-based assessments. Right now, the PIP assessment process is based on mistrust. Disabled people often find assessors are trying to catch them out. We hear that assessors will find excuses to not award support. This includes words being misrepresented to avoid awarding points on certain assessment criteria. We proposed that disabled people must be trusted to be the experts in their own conditions.

Disabled people are rarely assessed by specialists. This means their assessor often fails to understand their circumstances. This results in incorrect awards and a backlog of appeals.

We called on the Government to start using appropriate assessors across the board. These assessors should have expert knowledge of conditions. They must work with disabled people to assess their needs.

It’s essential PIP application and assessment processes become more accurate. They should be less of a burden for applicants. Changes must be informed by the experiences of disabled people.

What happens next?

Now that the consultation has closed, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will review the submissions. The Government will then decide whether to proceed with the changes. We’re hopeful that the consultation proposals will be stopped. We will keep pushing to make sure they are. While there were some positives, most of the changes put disabled people at risk.

We are now going to focus on campaigning. Our commitment is to work with the new Government to improve PIP and make it more accessible. Disabled people will be central to this effort. We will work in co-production with disabled people. Our goal is to make sure PIP is designed by disabled people and for disabled people.

To stay updated about this campaign, and all the work we do for an equal future for disabled people, sign up to be a Scope campaigner. You can do this on our website: Sign up.

Thousands of disabled people contacted us about this consultation. We want to say a big thank you for your involvement and feedback. Many agreed to us using their stories to pushback against these proposals. We know it made a big difference and we greatly appreciate the time and effort taken to support us.