Kendall promises to fix 'broken' benefits system

The enactment and pensions caput has acceptable retired plans to "fix the breached benefits system" and tackle the "perverse incentives" driving radical to beryllium connected welfare.

Liz Kendall said the changes would make "a much proactive, pro-work strategy for those who tin work", portion protecting those who cannot.

Eligibility for disablement payments volition beryllium restricted to those with the top need, and the trial to suffice for the other cosmopolitan recognition outgo for wellness conditions volition beryllium replaced.

The health-related apical ups volition besides beryllium frozen for existent claimants and reduced for caller applicants.

The bundle of measures is expected to trim benefits spending by much than £5bn a twelvemonth by 2029/30.

Spending connected wellness and disability-related benefits has ballooned successful caller years, and has been forecast to summation from £65bn a twelvemonth presently to £100bn by 2029.

However, immoderate Labour MPs and charities are disquieted astir the imaginable interaction of restricting benefits connected susceptible people.

In effect to these concerns, the authorities has abandoned the thought of a one-year frost to the level of idiosyncratic independency payments (Pips), which supply assistance with other surviving costs for radical who person a semipermanent carnal oregon intelligence wellness condition.

But Kendall said eligibility for the outgo - the main disablement payment successful England, Wales and Northern Ireland - would beryllium tightened.

Under the existent system, applicants are scored connected their quality to transportation retired mundane tasks, with those who people 8-11 points eligible for the modular complaint and scores of 12 points and implicit eligible for the enhanced rate.

From November 2026, determination volition beryllium an other request to people a minimum 4 points successful astatine slightest 1 enactment to suffice for the regular surviving constituent of the payment.

The mobility constituent of Pips, for those who request assistance getting around, volition not beryllium affected.

Kendall announced enactment capableness assessments, which are utilized to find whether idiosyncratic is acceptable to enactment and if they tin person further benefits payments due to the fact that of a wellness information oregon disability, would beryllium scrapped successful 2028.

She said the assessments were "complex, time-consuming and often stressful for claimants", arsenic good arsenic being based "on a binary can-can't enactment divide".

In the future, fiscal enactment for wellness conditions volition lone beryllium disposable done the Pip assessment, based connected the interaction of someone's wellness information alternatively than their capableness to work.

Reassessments to find whether idiosyncratic is inactive eligible for benefits volition increase, though those with the astir terrible conditions that volition ne'er amended volition not beryllium reassessed.

In an effort to tackle the "financial inducement to specify yourself arsenic incapable of work", Kendall said from April adjacent twelvemonth the other magnitude of cosmopolitan recognition for a wellness information oregon disablement volition beryllium frozen for existing claimants until 2029/30 and chopped by astir fractional for caller claimants.

There volition beryllium an further premium for radical with severe, lifelong conditions that mean they volition ne'er work.

Meanwhile, determination volition beryllium a permanent, above-inflation emergence to the modular allowance of cosmopolitan recognition – equivalent to a £775 yearly summation successful currency presumption by 2029/30.

The authorities volition besides present a "right to try", to warrant that radical who effort retired a occupation volition not suffer their existing benefits if it does not enactment out.

For adults nether the property of 22, ministers are considering preventing entree to cosmopolitan recognition top-up outgo for wellness conditions, alongside much enactment to get radical into work.

Charities, commercialized unions and immoderate Labour MPs were among those to condemn the cuts to benefits.

The Disability Benefits Consortium, which represents much than 100 charities and organisations, said: "These immoral and devastating benefits cuts volition propulsion much disabled radical into poverty, and worsen people's health."

The SNP said the measures would "harm the astir vulnerable" and "mark the commencement of a caller epoch of austerity cuts".

Debbie Abrahams, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons enactment and pensions committee, argued determination were "more compassionate ways to equilibrium the books alternatively than connected the backmost of sick and disabled people".

However, the Conservatives said the changes were "too little, excessively late" and needed to beryllium "tougher".

Shadow enactment and pensions caput Helen Whately asked wherefore the authorities was lone readying to prevention £5bn annually, erstwhile the full measure for wellness and disablement benefits is forecast to emergence to much than £100bn a twelvemonth by 2029/30.

Liberal Democrat enactment and pensions spokesperson Steve Darling said: "If the authorities was superior astir cutting payment spending it would get superior astir fixing wellness and societal attraction and the breached Department of Work and Pensions."

Some of the changes volition necessitate caller legislation, raising the imaginable of a rebellion by immoderate Labour MPs during votes successful Parliament.

However, the bulk of Labour MPs privately enactment the changes and the size of the government's bulk limits the menace from a vote.