DWP criticised for PIP changes excluding young people under 25

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been criticized for planned changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which will come into force for all claimants except those aged 24 and under.

Disability charities described the plans as “extremely worrying” and added that “young disabled people should not be penalized because of their age”.

DWP approved Independent Last month it moved to set PIP award reviews for new claims at a minimum of three years; If the plaintiff’s right continues, this period will increase to five years in the next review.

In many cases this will reduce the frequency of tender reviews for PIP claimants; Uncertainty in re-evaluations is often cited as a significant problem of the system.

However, it has now been confirmed that these changes will not apply to beneficiaries aged 24 and under. This marks a significant policy change, treating young Pip claimants differently from others.

Bill Thorpe, the DWP’s disability and health support director, who was asked to review the decision by the Independent Social Security Advisory Committee, said the policy would “avoid keeping young people on PIP for longer than necessary”.

He added: “Long-term assistance receipt at this developmental age may harm long-term employment prospects through income replacement and scarring effects in early life.”

Although welcoming the wider changes, disability charities reacted negatively to the decision to exclude young applicants from the policy.

Harriet Edwards, influencing director at national disability charity Sense, said: “The DWP’s linking of PIP to employment prospects is wrong and damaging. PIP is not a non-work benefit; it is there to offset the significant extra costs of being disabled, such as not having accessible public transport or having higher energy bills.”

“In fact, Sense research found that almost half of disabled people with complex needs under the age of 25 say their PIP has helped them access employment. Far from being a ‘scar’, the benefits are a lifeline for disabled people, with a wealth of benefits available.”

“Reducing the number of assessments faced by disabled people is a positive step that should apply to all PIP claimants. The barriers faced by young disabled adults are no less than those of their older counterparts, so they should be treated equally in the benefits system.”

Abdi Mohamed, head of policy at disability equality charity Scope, added: “PIP assessments can be extremely stressful and humiliating. Young disabled people should not be penalized because of their age and excluded from plans to extend review periods.”

“Life is much more expensive for disabled people, including those under 25. PIP does not prevent young disabled people from working, it helps level the playing field by subsidizing the extra costs.”

PIP, currently claimed by 3.9 million people, is intended to help with additional expenses related to managing a disability or long-term illness.

Disability minister Sir Stephen Timms is currently reviewing health benefit to ensure it is “fair and fit for the future”. He said Labor would delay any adjustments to the aid’s eligibility criteria until the end of this year.

The payment was at the heart of Labour’s plans to cut welfare costs last year, but proposals to adjust assessment rules to tighten eligibility have faced intense backlash from campaigners and politicians.

Ministers abandoned the proposal after more than 100 Labor MPs warned they would oppose the measures. Sir Stephen confirmed this landing and subsequent review during the debate on the legislation.

A DWP spokesperson said: “Applicants aged 16-24 are more likely to see improvements in condition and functional capacity than the general PIP population. “The aim of excluding under-25s from these changes is to avoid keeping young people in PIP for longer than necessary.

“This important step to reduce the frequency of reviews will make the system more efficient by freeing up the capacity of healthcare professionals to deal with the inherited backlog of assessments, while also removing unnecessary pressure on disabled claimants whose circumstances rarely change at each review.”