DWP issued ‘unsustainable’ benefits warning for one group – 4m people

The DWP has been told that spending without discipline is unsustainable after new personal independence payment (PIP) statistics showed that, as of April 30, there were four million claimants in England and Wales. This represented a 2% increase on the number as at January 31. Of these, 3.3million (83%) were of working age, and 680,000 (17%) were of state pension age. The data also revealed that 37% received the highest level of award, the same level as in January.

The payment helps with extra living costs if a person has a “long-term physical or mental health condition or disability” and “difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around” because of their condition. Nouran Moustafa, practice principal and IFA at Roxton Wealth, said: “Four million claimants is a serious number, and any government has to ask whether the system is targeted properly, assessed fairly and financially sustainable. The answer is not to attack disabled people.

“The answer is to build a system that protects genuine claimants while being honest about cost, fraud risk, assessment quality and long-term affordability.”

“If the UK wants a welfare system people still trust in ten years, it needs both compassion and control,” she added, ChronicleLive reported. “One without the other will fail. Too much control becomes cruelty. Too much spending without discipline becomes unsustainable.”

Kate Underwood, founder and chief people strategist at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said: “Four million people on PIP, I get why this will have many shocked. But before everyone clutches their pearls, let’s be clear what PIP actually is. It is not an out-of-work freebie

“Plenty of the people claiming it are sitting at their desks in small businesses right now, smashing it, precisely because PIP helps with the extra costs of a health condition.

“For a small employer, that’s gold. PIP is often the only reason a brilliant, loyal team member is still in their seat and not signed off for good. And finding their replacement in this market? Best of luck. Is the bill sustainable? Fair question. But you don’t fix it by snatching support from people grafting their socks off in a job.

“You fix it by sorting the mess that makes them need help, like NHS waiting lists and workplace adjustments that need reform. Slash PIP without thinking and you won’t save a penny. You’ll just lob the bill straight at employers and the NHS.”