Reform UK has announced plans to scrap the Personal Independence Payment (Pip) disability benefit as part of a welfare overhaul aimed at cutting £50 billion from the UK's benefits bill. The party, led by Nigel Farage, will set out the full package of savings at a press conference tomorrow morning, with the changes affecting nearly three million people.
£22bn in disability programme cuts
The party's Treasury spokesperson, Robert Jenrick, said £22 billion of the reforms would target the disability programme alone. In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, he described the current situation as 'suicidal empathy' and warned that the country is facing a 'moral and economic catastrophe'.
The £50 billion target would be equivalent to cutting more than a third of the total amount spent on the state pension every year. According to BBC News, the savings would come from abolishing Pip for working-age people, meaning 2.89 million people would have their payments removed or modified.
New Health Security Allowance proposed
Under the proposed new system, called Health Security Allowance, only the most 'severe, enduring and high-risk cases' would continue to receive cash support. Those with what Jenrick describes as 'lower-level conditions' would no longer get money; instead, their local authority would be told to provide any necessary equipment, transport or personal assistance. The health element of Universal Credit would also be scrapped along with Pip.
Jenrick said: 'Let me be very clear, we will never let down those who need it. In fact, these changes secure the system for those who deserve it for decades to come.'
Employers to cover sick pay
Companies would also be required to pay for any employees for the first two years they spend off sick, with those employing more than five people told to take out insurance to cover the cost. Reform says this would encourage employers to adapt workplaces and get their employees back into their jobs. The party claims the change would be cost-neutral for businesses, as a cut in employers' National Insurance contributions would offset it.
Labour described the proposals as 'fantasy economics' which would involve 'stripping support from disabled people and shifting costs onto employers'. They added: 'Labour is already reforming welfare: narrowing the gap between Universal Credit standard and health rates, restoring face-to-face assessments, and investing £3.5bn in employment support to end the culture of people being signed off and written off.'
An interim report from the Timms Review, which is looking into the long-term future of Pip, found that the benefit is no longer fit for purpose. The full review, including a series of recommendations, is due to be published in the autumn. A series of workshops are due to take place in September and October, with disabled people and those with long-term health conditions invited to help shape the recommendations before publication.
