{"id":124419,"date":"2026-08-17T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=124419"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:19:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:19:46","slug":"3-million-disability-claimants-pip-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/3-million-disability-claimants-pip-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 3 Million Disability Claimants Could Face Major PIP Changes Under New Crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The proposals form part of a package of welfare reductions that Reform says could cut \u00a320 billion from disability benefits, alongside a further \u00a321 billion linked to stopping payments <\/strong>to foreign nationals. The plans have prompted criticism from disability charities and political opponents, who argue that PIP supports people with the additional costs of disability and is not an unemployment benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disability Charities Warn of the Impact on Claimants<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Abdi Mohamed<\/a>, head of policy at disability equality charity Scope, said the debate should focus on creating opportunities for disabled people rather than reducing their financial support. He argued that PIP helps meet costs associated with disability regardless of whether a claimant is working. \u201cLife costs a huge amount more when you\u2019re disabled, and PIP goes towards covering those costs, whether or not you\u2019re in work. It\u2019s not an unemployment benefit<\/em>,\u201d Mohamed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Birmingham Mail, Mohamed also said young disabled people continue to face multiple barriers <\/strong>to employment and that cutting billions of pounds from financial support would not address those problems. He called instead for more accessible workplaces, better employment support and stronger provision of workplace adjustments by employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackie O\u2019Sullivan<\/a> of learning disability charity Mencap said the organisation had not yet seen the full details of Reform\u2019s proposals. She warned, though, that major reductions to PIP could push large numbers of disabled people into poverty <\/strong>and isolation<\/strong>. \u201cCuts of this scale would be devastating and make efforts to try and help disabled people into work unlikely to succeed<\/em>,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. Her comments underline one of the central disagreements surrounding the proposals: whether reducing disability-related payments would encourage employment or make it harder for some claimants to participate in work and wider society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Disability charities warn PIP cuts could deepen poverty and isolation \u00a9Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Labour MP Points to a Different Approach to PIP<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rachael Maskell<\/a>, the Labour MP who previously led a campaign against disability benefit cuts under Keir Starmer, also criticised the proposals. She said PIP can help disabled people work, take part in society and manage daily life, and argued that removing it would reduce their ability to participate fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, Maskell contrasted Reform\u2019s plans with Labour\u2019s current approach, saying the party was working with disabled people through the Timms review<\/strong> to examine how PIP could deliver value for both taxpayers and claimants<\/a>. \u201cInstead of making it harder for disabled people, who already experience significant financial deprivation, they should spend time learning of the benefit it brings<\/em>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reform finance spokesperson Robert Jenrick<\/strong> is expected to set out the proposals in more detail as the policy document is published. For now, the central figures remain those contained in the reported plan: 2.89 million working-age claimants potentially affected, \u00a320 billion in proposed disability benefit reductions, and a further \u00a321 billion associated with stopping payments to foreign nationals. The debate is therefore centred not only on the scale of the proposed savings, but on what removing or modifying PIP would mean for people who currently use the payment to meet disability-related costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reform is preparing proposals that could remove or alter Personal Independence Payment for almost three million working-age claimants as part of a wider plan to reduce disability benefit spending. According to the Birmingham Mail, a policy document due to be published this week estimates that 2.89 million people would have their PIP removed or modified under plans to abolish the payment for working-age recipients.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":124422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124419"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124424,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124419\/revisions\/124424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}