Speeches by Timms.

“I think for the time being the PIP assessment process will continue to look pretty much as it does now, but there are people who are arguing—you mentioned Ben Geiger earlier—that we should be looking, for example, not just at the functional assessment but at environmental factors. That would be a very big change and it…”

“We are looking at the moment at the terms of reference for the PIP review. The background to it is that it is a long time now since PIP was introduced. It was introduced in 2013, 12 years ago—the Chair and I will certainly remember that happening—and it is being looked at. Paul Gray carried out a couple of reviews in 2…”

“People above state pension age by and large will not be affected by these changes. The reason for that is that they are on what are known as ongoing awards with a light touch review that happens once every 10 years or so. The light touch review does not involve a reassessment for those who are over state pension age. T…”

“It does take time, and it will take time before these changes come in as well. That is the point I was making earlier about the need to make progress on all of these tracks in parallel, including fixing the NHS. It will be November next year, getting on for 16 months, before the changes to PIP start to take effect, so …”

“I am pleased to say we are fixing the NHS, as you know.”

“I have had one or two of those conversations. I think sometimes that is around the cost of travel to work, and of course we have the Access to Work programme that delivers help for that kind of cost. There are some long delays at the moment in Access to Work because of the very big increase in demand for it over the la…”

“No. As you say, PIP is a contribution to the costs imposed on people by their disability or health impairment. It is a contribution towards those costs and the person receiving it can be in work or out of work. The benefit does not have anything to do with work. About one in six, 17%, of those who claim PIP are in work…”

“I think it will certainly help. Obviously we have been listening to what everybody has been saying about these proposals over the last few months. The 13-week run-on will allow us to deliver the support that we refer to in the Green Paper—the employment support, personalised employment support and also the support to m…”

“I think there is fairly clear evidence that there has been a worsening of mental health since the pandemic, particularly among young people. That is where the evidence is most striking. If you look at what is driving the increase in the PIP caseload that we have talked about, mental health problems are a large and grow…”

“As I was explaining, the fact that the cost of health and disability benefits has risen so sharply, especially over the last six years, has been a big factor in our thinking and has driven the need for these changes. I think part of the problem has been the very low value of the universal credit standard allowance, tha…”

“It is. I am looking forward to the debate.”

“I think you are absolutely right. I am sure that the cost of living challenges are a very big factor in what has happened. People who may well have always been eligible but have not in the past claimed benefit are now doing so and that has driven this very substantial increase. As I say, the current trajectory is not a…”

“I completely accept much of what you say. Indeed, the Resolution Foundation has set out quite helpfully that working age social security spending as a percentage of GDP is not much more now than it was before the 2008 to 2010 recession, but as you say the share on disability and incapacity benefits is very substantiall…”

“Essentially because of the urgency of the changes that needed to be made. If you look at personal independence payment, the year before the pandemic in current prices PIP cost the then Government £12 billion, last year it cost the Government £22 billion and the cost of it went up by £2.8 billion per year last year alon…”

“I don’t think anyone will see a cut next April. I think new claimants from April will have a lower rate of universal credit health premium, but nobody will experience a cut in that sense in April. In November, the changes to the personal independence payment will start and there will then be some people from November o…”

“Fifteen years, I think.”

“Thank you very much, Chair, for the opportunity to come before the Committee. The background to all of this is the position, which I think is pretty clear, that the current system does not work. As you know, uniquely in the G7, our employment rate is still less than it was just before the pandemic. Every other country …”

“I think that sequencing point is a very important one. As you say, the changes we are proposing will start from next April on universal credit.”

“I am looking forward to answering questions about these matters in front of the Committee on Wednesday morning. We are working very closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that the health and care needs of people who lose benefits as a result of this process are met.”

“I recognise that many people who are on the PIP daily living component who did not get four points on anything at their last assessment are feeling rather anxious. However, what they need to know—I hope the hon. Member will reassure her constituents on this—is that it is the view of the Office for Budget Responsibility…”