PIP Claims Double to Four Million Amid Welfare Reform Push
Government faces pressure to cut welfare spending as review deems disability benefits 'no longer fit for purpose'.
Callum Smith
The number of individuals in England and Wales claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has now surpassed four million, a figure that has approximately doubled since 2019.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides crucial assistance for daily living expenses and additional costs for individuals with long-term physical or mental health conditions or disabilities.
Claims for anxiety and depression within PIP surged from 5.9% in 2020 to 8.1% in 2025.
The Prime Minister has now signaled stricter benefit conditions, aiming to drastically reduce the national welfare bill.
His proposed reforms could make payments more 'conditional upon people taking opportunities that are presented in front of them'.
Andy Burnham echoed this sentiment, stating, 'It’s about changing the nature of the support and making some of the support conditional upon people taking opportunities that are presented in front of them.'
Burnham further noted, 'So you might increase the conditions required to receive benefits.'
Teenagers claiming sickness benefits for conditions like anxiety reportedly receive £100 a week more than part-time workers on a minimum wage.
A 16-year-old working 12 hours a week on the under-18 minimum wage earns approximately £94, starkly contrasting with the benefit figures.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that young people in their 20s within the benefit system have been 'quite seriously let down because the support wasn’t there for them when it should have been there'.
He also claimed the school system lacks adequate support for young people with special educational needs or disabilities, suggesting an over-fixation on the university route.
The Government is investing £16.1 billion in NHS mental health services this year.
This commitment includes the critical hiring of 8,500 more mental health workers.
Andy Burnham commented, 'I think it’s a good thing that the Government has given guarantees of opportunities for young people.'
He added, 'And I think we need to continue down that approach and where mental health support is needed, for instance, it’s provided in work to support people in an opportunity.”
The Prime Minister faces immense pressure to find savings from the welfare budget to fund other pressing priorities.
These priorities include billions more for defense and the establishment of a new social care system.
Ministers were reportedly forced to climb down on plans to reform disability benefits in the face of fierce backbench Labour opposition.
Social care is not free at the point of use, and its high costs can tragically lead individuals to sell their homes.
Individuals with savings over £23,250 are not eligible for local council assistance with care costs.
Andy Burnham previously set out plans to overhaul social care for the elderly with the creation of a national care service in 2010.
Kemi Badenoch challenged him to fund this ambitious proposal without tax rises or increased borrowing.
The Prime Minister is expected to make critical interventions on social care, youth unemployment, and devolution in the coming days.
A recent review of disability benefits concluded the system is 'no longer fit for purpose'.
A Government spokesperson echoed this sentiment, stating, 'The Timms Review Interim Report is clear that PIP, as designed in 2013, is no longer fit for purpose, and the final recommendations due this autumn will lay the foundation for reform.'
The Timms Review Interim Report is clear that PIP, as designed in 2013, is no longer fit for purpose, and the final recommendations due this autumn will lay the foundation for reform.
The final report of the Timms Review, including recommendations for PIP reform, is due in the autumn.