Liz Kendall has announced changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) alongside other disability and sickness benefit reforms, but disability rights campaigners have slammed the cuts as 'immoral and devastating'.
The Work and Pensions Secretary told the Commons: “Every day there are more than 1,000 new Pip awards – that’s the equivalent of adding a population the size of Leicester every single year. That is not sustainable long-term above all for the people who depend on this support.”
She vowed to reform disability benefits “so they focus support on those in greatest need and to ensure the social security system lasts for the long-term into the future”.
This will include the decision not to means test PIP or to replace it with vouchers.
PIP will require a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element
Ms Kendall said: “This Government will not bring in the Tory proposals for vouchers because disabled people should have choice and control over their lives. We will not means test PIP because disabled people deserve extra support, whatever their income, and I can confirm we will not freeze PIP either.
“Instead, our reforms will focus support on those with the greatest needs. We will legislate for a change in PIP so people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of Pip from November 2026. This will not affect the mobility component of PIP and only relates to the daily living element.”
How PIP works
There are 2 parts to PIP:
- a daily living part - if you need help with everyday tasks
- a mobility part - if you need help with getting around
Whether you get one or both parts and the total amount depends on how difficult you find everyday tasks and getting around.
Daily living part
You might get the daily living part of PIP if you need help with:
- preparing food
- eating and drinking
- managing your medicines or treatments
- washing and bathing
- using the toilet
- dressing and undressing
- reading
- managing your money
- socialising and being around other people
- talking, listening and understanding
Mobility part
You might get the mobility part of PIP if you need help with:
- working out a route and following it
- physically moving around
- leaving your home
The Disability Benefits Consortium, an umbrella body representing more than 100 charities and organisations, condemned the “cruel cuts”.
The consortium’s policy co-chairman Charles Gillies said: “These immoral and devastating benefits cuts will push more disabled people into poverty, and worsen people’s health.”
Changes to Personal Independence Payments will make it harder for disabled people to manage “the overwhelming additional costs of their condition, from wheelchairs to visits from carers”.
“Any targeted cuts to disabled people on universal credit and employment and support allowance will largely hit those who are unable to work and rely on these benefits to survive,” he said.
“We are united in urging the Government to abandon these cruel cuts.”
Ms Kendall said: “Social and demographic change means more people are now living with a disability, but the increase in disability benefits is double the rate of increases in prevalence of working-age disability in the country, with claims amongst young people up 150%, for mental health conditions up 190%, and claims for learning difficulties up over 400% according to the IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies)."
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What is PIP awarded for?
The most common conditions among the 3.66 million claimants in England and Wales entitled to personal independence payments as of January 31 2025 were
- psychiatric disorders (1.4 million claimants)
- general musculoskeletal disease (691,000)
- neurological disease (467,000)
- specific musculoskeletal disease (437,000)
Disabling conditions involving psychiatric disorders accounted for 38.4% of claimants in January 2025, up from 35.0% five years earlier in January 2020, while general musculoskeletal disease accounted for 18.9%, down from 20.6%, and neurological disease accounted for 12.8%, down from 14.4%.
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