Personal Independence Payment
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing people who accumulate points across multiple Personal Independence Payment activities, but do not score four points in any single activity, to retain their entitlement.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
PIP is an important, non-means tested benefit for disabled people and people with health conditions – regardless of whether they are in or out of work. However, the rate of increases in claims and expenditure is not sustainable and has outstripped the growth in disability prevalence. Changes are needed that will control the spend on the welfare bill, while continuing to support those people with higher needs relating to their long-term health condition or disability.
In our Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we will introduce a new eligibility requirement to ensure that only those who score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity will be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. This requirement will need to be met in addition to the existing PIP eligibility criteria.
This will focus PIP more on those with the greatest needs, who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them. This means that people who have lower needs only in the daily living activities (scoring three or less for each activity) will no longer be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.
Our intention is that this change will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →