Liz Kendall, work and pensions secretary, will today set out plans for a “right to try guarantee” that will ensure people looking to return to the workforce will not have their disability benefits automatically removed for doing so.
Experts and charities complain that the current system discourages people from finding work by threatening to remove their benefits as soon as they find employment.
Kendall will say that the “right to try guarantee” would mean that when those on benefits try to take a job this will not automatically be considered a relevant change of circumstance that will trigger a reassessment by the authorities.
The minister’s announcement comes ahead of a controversial package of measures designed to slash government outlays on health-related benefits.
The measures, to be set out in a Health and Disability Green Paper on Tuesday, are designed to cut the benefits bill by up to £5bn a year. Rachel Reeves, chancellor, said on Friday that the government “must get a grip” on the “broken” benefits system.
But the plan has already prompted deep disquiet among some charities and many Labour MPs who fear the impact on some of the most vulnerable people in society. Concerns about the package were raised at an unusually heated cabinet meeting on Tuesday by senior ministers.
Kendall is expected to cut the top rate of incapacity benefit. Those deemed unfit for work are currently paid more than £800 a month — double the figure for jobseekers.
At the same time she is expected to increase the basic rate of support for people out of work, known as universal credit.
Experts have long argued that the low level of unemployment benefit has driven more people with underlying health conditions to claim for additional incapacity and disability benefits.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said last week that the “UC” had not covered the cost of essentials for more than 14 years, apart from a brief period during the Covid pandemic when the government gave it a temporary uplift.
The most controversial element of the reforms is expected to be changes to the eligibility criteria for a separate benefit called “personal independence payments” (PIPs) which are a separate type of disability benefits. Expenditure on PIP recipients has surged by more than a 1mn claimants to 3mn since 2019 and are forecast to keep rising.
The Times reported on Saturday that a million people face having their benefits cut under an overhaul of PIPs, which mean that only the most severely disabled will qualify. Payments would be denied to many people with mental health conditions and those who struggle with washing, eating and dressing themselves. People needing a hearing aid are also expected to fall below the new threshold and could lose out on payments.
James Taylor from the charity Scope said: “Tightening the assessment would be a disastrous move and result in hundreds of thousands more disabled people being pushed into poverty.”
A government official said: “Reforms will ensure severely sick and disabled people are always protected while also putting the benefits bill on a more sustainable footing in the long term to unlock growth as part of our plan for change.”