No crude proposals on disability benefits, minister leading review says

By Joshua Nevett , Political reporter  and  Iain Watson , Political correspondent Published 8 minutes ago A review of a disability benefit is not expected to make "crude proposals" on changes to claimants' payments, the minister leading the report has said. Sir Stephen Timms told the BBC his interim review of personal independence payments (Pip) found the benefit was not "fit for purpose" and promised "fundamental change" in recommendations due in the autumn. The disability minister said the "sustainability" of spending on the benefit, which is forecast to rise to more than £41bn by 2030, was "going to be a concern as we reach these decisions". Last year, the UK government asked Sir Stephen to review whether Pip was "fair and fit for the future". His initial report will be published on Thursday. The interim report concludes Pip is not working for millions of disabled people or the government, and suggests a sweeping overhaul of the assessment system is needed. In evidence submitted to the review, Pip claimants described the assessment process as "dehumanising" for disabled people and a barrier to work. The report also highlights the steep increase in the number of Pip recipients in recent years and the forecasted rise in spending on the benefit. Pip is a benefit people with long-term illnesses and disabilities can claim if they need help with extra costs associated with living, work and care. Eligibility for Pip is determined through an assessment. Under the current assessment system, claimants are scored on a zero to 12 scale by a health professional on everyday tasks such as washing, getting dressed and preparing food. Speaking to the BBC, Sir Stephen said Pip "does a very important job in helping people meet the additional costs of disability". But the minister said disabled people had told the review the assessment can be "demeaning" and "deter you from participating in society". "We've also found that it hasn't kept pace with changing understanding of health and disability over the last 13 years since the benefit was introduced, so we do think quite fundamental change is needed," Sir Stephen. As of April this year, there were about four million claimants entitled to Pip in England and Wales. The number of Pip recipients has risen considerably since the benefit was introduced in 2013, with the increase fuelled by claimants citing mental health conditions in recent years. Sir Stephens's review of Pip was commissioned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer following his government's abortive attempt to reform welfare last year. Dozens of Labour MPs expressed concerns about the plans to cut disability and sickness-related benefits payments to save £5bn a year by 2030. Fearing MPs would vote down the welfare reforms, the government U-turned, saying it would not change Pip rules until it had time to consider the review's conclusions. Sir Stephen's review is expected to make recommendations to reform Pip in the autumn. By that time, Sir Keir's su