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A proposed benefits shake-up could see a change in the way claimants with limited work capabilities are assessed and receive their payments – and thousands could miss out.<\/p>\n
The changes involve aligning the new health element of Universal Credit (UC) more closely with Personal Independence Payment (PIP) instead.<\/p>\n
At present, Universal Credit claimants who are deemed to have \u201climited capacity for work-related activity (LCWRA)\u201d receive an additional \u00a3390 per month on top of the standard allowance.<\/p>\n
Proposed plans would see the LCWRA element scrapped and replaced by the health element, and people will only be awarded the extra payment if they receive the UC standard allowance as well as a component of PIP.<\/p>\n
The new approach means there will be a single assessment \u2014 the PIP assessment \u2014 to determine eligibility for both PIP and the new UC health element. Those found not eligible for PIP would not receive the health element.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> New DWP benefit changes ‘will push disabled people into poverty’, charities warn<\/strong><\/p>\n Figures released by the DWP in July showed 516,000 people who were in receipt of the LCWRA element did not qualify for PIP in November 2022, which accounts for 29 percent of all recipients.<\/p>\n This means thousands of people could potentially miss out on hundreds of pounds a month if changes go ahead. The DWP has said current claimants would receive \u201ctransitional protection\u201d, but this is not expected to apply to new claimants.<\/p>\n However, charities have been urging ministers not to combine the two tests, with the group Z2K calling PIP a “deeply flawed assessment process”.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Anastasia Berry, policy co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) and policy manager at the MS Society, warns the changes could \u201cpush many more disabled people into poverty\u201d.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> Ms Berry said: \u201cIt will cause significant stress and anxiety, and pose a real risk to people\u2019s health and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n Ken Butler welfare rights and policy adviser for Disability Rights UK said previously: \u201cUsing PIP as a passport to the health component of UC is extremely problematic. All the issues relating to the lack of accuracy of WCA assessments apply equally to PIP \u2013 perhaps unsurprisingly, given five weeks of online virtual training for [the healthcare professionals who carry them out].<\/p>\n \u201cMany disabled people have shorter-term debilitating health conditions and may not be eligible to receive PIP. Others will have claimed PIP but been wrongly refused it. In addition, the PIP assessment isn\u2019t intended to assess a disabled claimant\u2019s capability to work, it\u2019s meant to capture the extra costs disabled people face in life (although it doesn\u2019t do this very well).\u201d<\/p>\n It comes as part of a rumoured wider shake-up across the DWP to get more people off benefits and back to work in a move that\u2019s forecast to save \u00a34billion from the welfare budget.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/23\/590x\/secondary\/WCA-CHANGES-2023-PIP-UNIVERSAL-CREDIT-5063462.jpg?r=1699877541808\")
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Universal Credit slammed ‘entirely insufficient’ as thousands face homelessness[INSIGHT] <\/strong>
DWP rule change could affect PIP claims in 164 locations – full list of areas[ANALYSIS] <\/strong>
HMRC offers \u00a31,200 extra bonus to people with savings – how to apply[EXPLAINED] <\/strong><\/p>\n\n