Resolution Foundation advises against excluding people with ADHD and autism from PIP — The Guardian

In the United Kingdom, the Resolution Foundation think tank has warned against proposals to strip people with anxiety disorders, ADHD or autism of their entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). According to the organisation, such restrictions would not deliver significant budget savings and could make it harder for people to find work, remain in employment and participate in public life, The Guardian reports.

Call for comprehensive reform

The Resolution Foundation described linking eligibility for PIP to specific mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions as an overly simplistic and impractical approach. It noted that most benefit recipients have several conditions at the same time, including combinations of physical, mental and behavioural conditions.

At the same time, the think tank believes that the current PIP system requires major reform. Its aim should be to curb spending, which the organisation estimates is rising at an unsustainable rate, and to restore trust in a system that many people consider unfair and dysfunctional.

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Assessment of potential savings

According to the Resolution Foundation's calculations, more accurate targeting of support could save about £4.4 billion a year. Financial support could potentially be withdrawn from around one in six working-age PIP recipients — about 670,000 people who reported having no additional costs due to disability.

However, the organisation stressed that the system should be changed carefully. PIP enables many people with disabilities and illnesses to work, care for others, study or volunteer.

PIP spending in England and Wales has increased by 183% in real terms since the benefit was introduced in 2014. According to official forecasts, spending will reach £28 billion this year and £34 billion by the end of the decade. The UK's Department for Work and Pensions said that PIP is awarded based on a functional assessment of how a person's condition affects their everyday needs.