Former DWP Assessor Reveals Four Conditions That Will Secure PIP Benefits Amid Cuts

Major reforms to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are set to reshape the landscape for disability benefits in the UK, with the government confirming that eligibility will be tightened from November 2026, a move expected to impact up to 1.2 million people according to the Resolution Foundation.
Under the new rules, applicants will be required to score at least four points in a single activity and at least eight points overall to qualify for the lower rate, while twelve points will be needed for the upper band, a significant change from the current system where claimants can qualify with lower scores across multiple categories.
Despite these stricter criteria, a former PIP assessor told the Daily Star that individuals with “advanced MS (Multiple sclerosis), motor neurone disease, late-stage cancer, or severe physical disabilities” are likely to retain their benefits, reassuring some of the most severely affected claimants.
“Based on what we know so far, claimants with clear, long-term, and medically diagnosed physical impairments that affect mobility, or personal care may be more likely to keep their awards.
This includes conditions like advanced MS, motor neurone disease, late-stage cancer, or severe physical disabilities that are visually or medically apparent and require obvious support.
This would be a massive step backwards in disability rights.
PIP was originally designed to account for how a condition affects someone not just what the condition is.
Moving away from that opens the door to unfair assumptions and gatekeeping.” The boss of CWS Limited, a company assisting claimants with PIP applications, echoed these concerns, warning that people with “fluctuating, invisible, or mental health conditions” are at greater risk of losing support if the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) adopts a more medical-based approach.
He said, “The government’s proposed changes to PIP criteria particularly if they shift to a more medical-model-based approach risk sidelining people with fluctuating, invisible, or mental health conditions.
Those with mental health conditions, chronic fatigue syndromes, neurodivergent conditions (like ADHD or autism), or fluctuating illnesses (like fibromyalgia or long COVID) are likely to face more scrutiny under a ‘toughened’ framework which could require 4 points in one activity.” As of October 2024, over 3.6 million people were claiming PIP, with women making up the majority of recipients, and while the government argues that these changes are necessary to promote work and ensure the sustainability of the welfare system, disability rights advocates and charities have raised concerns about the potential for increased hardship among vulnerable groups and a return to a less nuanced, less fair assessment process.