A major DWP announcement will soon take place (Image: Getty Images)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is poised to outline its plans for changes to health and disability in an upcoming Green Paper, scheduled for release this spring.
Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disabilities, has revealed that the specifics, accompanied by a public consultation, will be shared ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Spring Statement, which is expected on Wednesday, March 26. This means that individuals claiming working-age disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and Universal Credit, can look forward to reviewing the proposed changes before that date.
Sir Stephen confirmed this in a written response to Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley’s inquiry, which inquired whether any modifications to financial support for ill and disabled individuals would require a public consultation, as reported by the . In his response to Wrigley, the Minister wrote: “We are working to develop proposals for health and disability reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement. This will launch a public consultation on the proposals.”
Sir Stephen has made it clear that the government is steadfast in involving disabled individuals and their representatives in policymaking, saying: “This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals, where appropriate, with disabled people and representative organisations.”
Last week, he lauded the Health Transformation Programme’s potential, summarising its aim to “transform the entire PIP service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments.”
The clarification from Sir Stephen came as a written response to Democratic Unionist Party MP Gregory Campbell, who had requested information regarding the discussions the Department for Work and Pensions () conducted with those affected by the impending changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), and Disability Living Allowance (DLA). On January 30, Sir Stephen stressed the necessity of overhauling the health and disability benefits system, asserting: “We believe there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today.”
Sir Stephen underscored the government’s commitment to prioritising the needs of disabled individuals, saying: “This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, and with any reform, including the Health and Disability Green Paper we intend to publish in the Spring, we will consult with disabled people and representative organisations.”
He also shed light on the groundwork being laid for the proposal, saying: “Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have already started to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives, including through stakeholder roundtables and public visits, and look forward to progressing these initiatives over the coming months.”
Regarding the changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) service, Sir Stephen explained: “About the PIP service specifically: the Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services, to improve people’s experience of applying for PIP. The Programme will transform the entire PIP service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments.”
He added that the programme engages regularly with disabled individuals and external stakeholders, incorporating their feedback into the development of the transformed service. Scots receiving PIP and due to switch to the new Adult Disability Payment have been reassured by officials that upcoming changes won’t affect their transition to the devolved system.
Meanwhile, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has made a stark declaration about the welfare budget’s future, stating it must be put on a “more sustainable course”. Speaking to PA, Ms Kendall warned of the unsustainable “costs of failure” that the nation faces.
She attributed the spiralling welfare costs to past Conservative governments, saying: “We’re going to get the benefits bill on a more sustainable course – and it has to be, we cannot accept these costs of failure, failure for individuals, failure for businesses and failure for the economy.”
Kendall outlined her strategy to tackle the issue, focusing on employment and reforms in Jobcentres, as well as an overhaul of the benefit system. “But the way to do this is to get more people into work through the reforms that we’re putting in place in our Jobcentres and through reform of the benefit system. And we’ll be bringing forward our green paper on reforming sickness and disability benefits in the spring,” she told PA.
With the welfare cap set at £137.4 billion for 2024/25 expected to be exceeded by £8.6 billion, Ms Kendall criticised the legacy left by the : “This is our inheritance from the Conservative government. And the failed on welfare because they failed on work.”
The spectre of long-term health issues is casting a shadow over the nation’s workforce, with stark words from an unnamed source stating, “We have got almost record numbers of people out of work due to long-term health problems. That’s terrible for them. It’s terrible for their living standards. It’s terrible for employers who want to recruit and it’s terrible for the public finances.”
The call for action was clear as they emphasised the need for substantial shifts in workplace practices: “So we need big reforms in the way that we work to get more people into those jobs, which will help bring the benefits bill onto a more sustainable footing.”
This pressing issue became a focal point during Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ significant economic growth speech on January 29, where she declared war against the current inadequacies of the welfare system. She signalled her intent to champion “fundamental reform of our welfare system” while highlighting that it’s time to tackle previously ignored areas, such as “looking at areas that have been ducked for too long like the rising cost of health and disability benefits”.