PM faces discontent over benefits system shake-up

Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting discontent arsenic the authorities prepares to denote changes to the payment system.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is to acceptable retired plans for betterment connected Tuesday successful an effort to get much radical backmost to enactment and chopped the outgo of spending connected benefits.

Ministers person been looking astatine the eligibility criteria astir Personal Independence Payments (PIP) - which are designed to assistance with other surviving costs for those with semipermanent wellness conditions and disabilities.

It comes aft Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg determination was an "over diagnosis" of intelligence wellness conditions and excessively galore radical were being "written off".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour, the main enforcement of Citizen's Advice said the authorities was "pulling the speedy and casual lever" by taking "money retired of the system".

Dame Clare Moriarty besides accused the authorities of "not having done each the enactment to marque definite that radical tin really beryllium supported into work".

Asked what proposal she would springiness to the enactment and pensions secretary, Dame Clare said: "If I was talking to Liz Kendall now, I'd beryllium saying the mode that they are going astir this does not consciousness accordant with a authorities that truly wants to rise surviving standards, tackle kid poverty, extremity wide dependence connected exigency nutrient parcels.

"They truly request to deliberation astir the consequences of taking this abbreviated word action."

Several backbenchers person besides expressed vexation astatine a deficiency of connection from ministers.

Speaking to the PA quality agency, 1 Labour MP described "engagement sessions" held by No 10 arsenic "a tick container exercise" and different said galore colleagues had made it wide they would ballot against specified proposals.

Initial reports had suggested PIP would not emergence successful enactment with ostentation for a year, but ministers are present considering abandoning those plans aft galore usually loyal Labour MPs voiced beardown opposition.

After attending a backstage gathering of Labour MPs past week, 1 MP told the BBC that freezing PIP would beryllium "unforgivable".

"Some radical person precise analyzable disabilities. Part of the societal declaration is they are supported", they said.

Another MP, a accustomed protagonist of the premier minister, told the BBC: "Most of america broadly hold that determination are tons of radical who don't enactment but should, and person nary occupation with getting them into work.

"But punishing those who are particularly susceptible and person terrible disabilities is unacceptable."

Writing successful the Times connected Monday, Labour's Greater Manchester politician Andy Burnham urged "caution" connected payment changes.

He said: "It would trap excessively galore radical successful poverty. And to beryllium clear: determination is nary lawsuit successful immoderate script for cutting the enactment disposable to disabled radical who are incapable to work."

During his quality connected the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Streeting was asked if helium agreed with experts that pass of an overdiagnosis of intelligence wellness conditions.

The wellness caput said helium wanted to "follow the grounds and I hold with that constituent astir overdiagnosis".

"Here's the different thing, intelligence wellbeing, illness, it's a spectrum and I deliberation decidedly there's an overdiagnosis but there's excessively galore radical being written off," helium said.

The wellness secretary's comments prompted the intelligence wellness foundation Mind to pass it was important to beryllium "extremely careful" with the connection astir diagnoses to debar stigmatising people.

Total spending connected wellness and disablement benefits is forecast to emergence from £64.7bn successful 2023-24 to £100.7bn successful 2029-30.

The biggest contributor to this summation would beryllium from payment spending connected working-age adults, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

PIP is the second-largest constituent of the working-age payment bill, with spending connected this projected to astir treble to £34bn by 2029-30.

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott accused the authorities of being "all implicit the spot and divided" implicit payment reform.

When asked if the Conservatives would backmost the payment changes, she said her enactment supported the "principle of payment reform" but "we're not wide connected the plan".

The SNP has urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to scrap the "cuts to disabled people".

The party's Westminster person Stephen Flynn said the Labour authorities had "boxed itself successful with its Tory austerity rules" connected nationalist spending.