Disability minister Sir Stephen Timms has indicated that Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not be increased for Londoners to reflect the capital's higher living costs, as he prepares to publish a major review of the welfare system. The benefit is claimed by nearly half a million people across London.
Sir Stephen, MP for East Ham, appeared to rule out introducing a London weighting for PIP, despite figures from the Trust for London showing that a couple with children in inner London needs £370 more per week for rent compared with the same family elsewhere in the UK, and £260 more in parts of Greater London.
Review findings due this month
Sir Stephen has been reviewing whether the current PIP system is fit for purpose, with his findings due to be published this month. An interim report published in the summer found that disability benefits were “no longer fit for purpose”. More than four million people currently claim the non-means-tested benefit, which is worth up to £843 a month, including almost 500,000 Londoners.
Asked about the prospect of a “London weighting” recommendation in his review, Sir Stephen said: “We issued a call for evidence in March and had 38,000 responses – actually, London weighting hasn’t been a big theme of the evidence that we’ve gathered, and it’s not something we’ve really talked much about in the group.”
Focus on assessment reform
The Labour politician said the review was likely to instead offer ideas for reforming the assessment process, which he said many claimants find dehumanising. “A huge number of people said that the assessment for Pip is dehumanising, because it requires you to run through lots of things you cannot do, and it’s a pretty horrible experience,” he said.
“What I think we’re going to be setting out in my report is ideas for a different kind of assessment which is not dehumanising. I don’t think it’s necessary to have such a horrible process in order to apply for disability benefits. We’ve got to come up with an assessment that does a better job of assessing what the additional costs are that people have, and how those should be supported.”
Political context and devolution
The review follows a Labour rebellion last year after Sir Keir Starmer’s government proposed restricting disabled people's eligibility for PIP in a move designed to cut the welfare bill by £5 billion. Following the revolt, Sir Stephen was tasked with reviewing the system. Some backbenchers fear his findings could lead to another fallout, according to The Sun, with one backbencher saying: “I think it’s going to be a lot meatier than people realise.”
Sir Stephen also suggested the Government could devolve further powers to London’s Mayor, Lord Sadiq Khan, to boost employment for disabled Londoners. There are currently 1.16 million disabled Londoners, of whom around 650,000 – 55% – are in employment, according to the latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions, far below the non-disabled employment rate in London of 79%.
Sir Stephen said the disparity would only be solved through a “devolved approach”, adding: “We’re doing a lot of work at the moment talking to the mayors – Sadiq and others – and let’s see where we get to.” He made the comments during a visit to Auticon, a firm that hires autistic adults to work as consultants, in London Bridge.
