The government’s plans to cut at least £5bn from disability benefits could end up driving more costs on to cash-strapped councils, according to campaigners and local government officials.
Last week, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall published a green paper including a package of cuts to disability benefits. Up to 1.2 million fewer people could be eligible for Pip by 2029/30 as a result of the changes, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank, including existing claimants losing their benefits when their needs are reassessed.
Critics warn that, without the financial support of Pip, some people’s physical condition or mental health could worsen to the point that they require council-funded care services, while their unpaid carers could become ineligible for the carer’s allowance benefit, meaning they may have to pass their care responsibilities to the local authority.
Last week, the Disability Policy Centre thinktank published analysis forecasting that the government’s cuts would lead to £1.2bn of extra costs for the NHS and social care services. “For every pound that someone loses in benefits, you know that – if a council has to step in to cover the shortfall – it’s about £1.50 additional impact,” said Arun Veerappan, the Disability Policy Centre’s interim director of research.
“Let’s say you need social care support at home. In order for the council to find that funding and administrative support, that will cost more – especially when it comes to finding the right community therapist and care. There’s not the resources for that … there’s not enough resources in the system to deal with that extra demand.
“If you lose carer’s allowance, you’re going to just push more people into the formal [council-funded] care system.”
He warned that forcing more people to rely on council care provision would lead to increased strain and delays in services such as community care and the Disabled Facilities Grant.
The cuts will target people whose Pip claims are based on illnesses or disabilities that affect them in multiple ways, rather than having very severe specific effects. The “daily living” or “care” element of people’s Pip payments is often – and controversially – used by councils to fund their care provision. If they lose these, councils will have to meet more of the costs themselves.
David Fothergill, chair of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said: “A reduction in Pip could mean lower individual contributions and therefore higher council contributions. We are still working to further understand the impact of the welfare reforms on adult social care charging.”
“The government’s ill-thought-out and harmful green paper chooses to penalise some of the poorest people in our society,” said Jon Abrams of Inclusion London, a deaf and disabled people’s organisation.
“What’s already clear is that these proposals are likely to hit disabled people who rely on social care. This green paper risks making an already broken social care system even worse.
“These proposals risk deepening hardship and pushing even more disabled people, carers and families into crisis, which could result in higher long-term costs for local authorities, the NHS, housing services and other support systems.
“Many disabled people and carers may also be forced to withdraw from the care system altogether, placing additional pressure and costs on the wider health economy.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “The broken social security system we inherited is failing people who can and have the potential to work, as well as the people it’s meant to be there for. That’s why we are delivering a £1bn support offer to guarantee tailored help into work to break down barriers for disabled people.
“This government will continue to deliver a social security system for those with severe health conditions and we will introduce a new premium for those who will never be able to work.”
Costings certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility will be published this week.
