CONTROVERSIAL proposals to cut PIP may be dropped after a tense cabinet meeting and backlash from Labour MPs, according to reports.
Labour had been expected to include the welfare cuts in a paper set to be unveiled next week as the partys attempts to cut the benefits bill.
But ministers are reported to have potentially U-turned on the proposal after being accused in meetings with MPs of being unfair.
The Observer has reported that at a tense cabinet meeting last Tuesday, several serving members raised concerns about public perception of Labour if it froze Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
Several Labour MPs have also reportedly said they could not support the plans in a vote.
Wes Streeting was unable to say whether the UK Government would freeze personal independence payment (PIP) as part of its welfare reforms this week.
The Health Secretary told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I haven’t seen the full plans, they haven’t come to Cabinet yet.
“But what I do know is the Work and Pensions Secretary wants to support people who need help the most and we’ve got to make sure that there is a wider range of support, and that everyone’s playing their part, including me, because with those levels of illness, for example, if I can help people back to health, in many cases I’ll be helping them back to work and that’s what we’ll do.”
He added: “I haven’t seen the proposals but you’ve seen the briefing, you’ve seen the speculation, I think the moral of the story is wait for the plans.”
Streeting went on to say he thought doctors were “overdiagnosing” mental health conditions.
Asked whether he thought this was a problem, he said: “I want to follow the evidence and I agree with that point about overdiagnosis.
“Here’s the other thing, mental wellbeing, illness, it’s a spectrum and I think definitely there’s an overdiagnosis but there’s too many people being written off and, to your point about treatment, too many people who just aren’t getting the support they need.
“So if you can get that support to people much earlier, then you can help people to either stay in work or get back to work.
“And that’s why we’re recruiting 8500 more mental health staff to make sure we can get the waiting list down, and also starting early, so making sure we’ve got mental health support in every primary and secondary school in the country so we can give people that resilience and those coping skills they need in life.”
