What is PIP and who is eligible? Number receiving payment reaches record high

Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google

The DWP said that the benefits system, designed in 2013, needs “fundamental change” and that it must be made “financially sustainable” after data for July showed 4.9 million people were entitled.

The data was published ahead of the review by social security minister Stephen Timms, expected to suggest major changes this autumn.

A DWP statement read: “On welfare generally, our position is clear. “The increase in the PIP caseload has slowed under this government, falling from 400,000 in the 12 months to July 2024, to 260,000 in the 12 months to July 2026.

“But as the Timms Review report made clear, PIP is no longer fit for purpose and the recommendations from its final report, due in Autumn, will lay the foundation for sustainable reform."

Read also: Inflation rises again to 3.1% in year to August as Iran war continues to push up cost of living

What is PIP and who is eligible?

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) is a government payment that can be received by those eligible to help with extra living costs in England and Wales.

PIP has replaced the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for all adults over 16 and born after April 8, 1948.

Recipients need to show both a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around.

The Department for Work and Pensions has further terms and conditions about what it means to have these conditions, and it will send an advisor to assess the individual before signing off.

A statement read: "To get PIP you must experience difficulty with tasks most of the time. This means that you expect to have difficulty more than half of the days over a 12-month period."

In Scotland, claimants are assessed for the separate but comparable Adult Disability Payment (ADP).