In March this year, the Government announced a range of proposed changes to social security in its green paper, Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.
We have responded to the consultation, drawing on the best available evidence about what these changes could mean for the public’s mental health and for people living with mental health difficulties.
One of the key proposed changes is reducing eligibility to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), including for many people with a mental health difficulty. We’re very pleased that, after robust challenge from disabled people, charities and politicians, the Government has decided to amend these changes so that people who are currently getting PIP are not affected by the cuts.
However, we remain deeply concerned by these plans for people who need this support in the future. For many thousands of people with a wide range of mental health difficulties – and very often co-occurring physical health conditions and disabilities – PIP is a lifeline that enables them to get by day-to-day. For some people with a mental illness, PIP is what enables them to continue in work.
Removing entitlements to PIP is highly likely to increase the costs of health and social care. It will undermine people’s abilities to live independently, lead more people to crisis point, and as a result increase already very considerable pressures on Emergency Departments, mental health services, primary care and social services. The effect of reducing PIP eligibility will be to shift spending from one government department to another, to the detriment of the people concerned.
Our response also covers some of the other changes to come in the green paper, including to the ways people are supported into work. They include the Access to Work scheme, which our response shows provides essential support for people with mental and physical health needs, and which needs to be expanded and improved to fulfil its potential.
