Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of the PIP daily living component are (a) in work and (b) self-employed at (i) regional, (ii) constituency and (iii) local authority level; and what proportion of those recipients were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities.

The information requested is provided in the excel workbook attached. A content of the tables provided in the attached workbook is below:

The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP in future. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. Someone who did not score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment as conditions change over time.

No one will lose access to PIP immediately - and most people will not lose access at all. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval and will only apply at a claimant’s next scheduled award review, which on average occurs every three years. At that point, a claimant will be reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional based on their individual needs and circumstances.

After accounting for behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 9 out of 10 PIP recipients at the time of policy implementation are expected to be unaffected by the PIP 4-point change in 2029/30. Despite the reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to increase by 750,000 by the end of this Parliament and spending is projected to rise from £23 billion in 2024/25 to £31 billion in 2029/30.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Notes:

- The volumes provided have been rounded to the nearest 10.

- HMRC data is used to determine whether a claimant was in employment. HMRC data covers up to the end of the tax year 2023/24, therefore March 2024 has been provided as the latest data available.

- Self-employment data from the financial year 2023/24 is not available until the end of the 2024/25 financial year, so self-employment data for the financial year 2022/23 has been used as a proxy for 2023/24 instead.

- People without any employment or self-employment record in the HMRC data, as well as those who have been confirmed to not be in employment or self-employment in the data, have been considered not employed or not self-employed respectively.

- The data provided excludes special rules for end of life claimants and claimants over state pension age.

- The data provided excludes Scottish and Northern Irish claimants, as these claimants do not fall under DWP policy ownership.