Changes to a number of health and disability benefits are expected this week as the UK government looks at cutting spending. The proposed plans are set to make it harder to qualify for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
It comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the current benefit system is discouraging some people from working. The Chancellor is set to make her Spring Statement on March 26 and concern is growing that the Labour Government are considering a potential £5 billion slash from the PIP budget, which supports 3.6 million individuals, offering financial assistance for disabilities affecting both workers and non-workers.
As for how the proposed plans could impact Northern Ireland, the latest figures suggest around 218,000 people here receive PIP. The benefit is for people under state pension age who need help with daily activities due to long-term illness or disability.
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Department for Communities figures from November 2024 show around 104,000 claimants are 55 or older, with just over 18,000 16-24 year olds getting PIP. The highest amount of claims - 52,000 - relate to "anxiety and depressive disorders", with the next most common condition being arthiritis, featuring in 17,000 claims.
PIP can be claimed by people who are in work as well as those out of work, and is not means tested. The two components of the benefit are for daily living and mobility, with the maximum weekly payment being £184.30.
In Northern Ireland at the end of last year, there were 318,000 economically inactive people - meaning working age people not in work and not looking for work. Those who are in this category can include those who are sick or disabled, as well as students, early retirees, and unpaid carers.
Of those who are economically inactive here, around 118,000 were long-term sick. Employees who are off work for more than four weeks may be considered long-term sick.
Lagan Valley MP Sorcha Eastwood has accused the UK government of “balancing the books on the backs of vulnerable people” ahead of the proposed cuts to welfare payments. She said the measures would drive more people into poverty rather than employment.
She added: "The idea cutting disability benefits will help people into work is absolute nonsense. Slashing support won’t create jobs or remove barriers, it’ll just push more disabled people into deep financial hardship. The Government should be tackling poverty, not making it worse.
“This approach is a false economy. Stripping away the welfare safety net without putting proper supports in place won’t just devastate vulnerable people, it will pile further pressure onto our already overstretched healthcare, primary care and social care systems. The cost of this cruelty will be felt in hospitals, GP surgeries, and crisis services for years to come."
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