Personal Independence Payment and disabled people

This debate pack gives an overview of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), summarises issues around and criticisms of the PIP assessment and how governments have responded to these, and looks at proposals to reform PIP set out in the green paper published on 18 March 2025, Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for PIP in England and Wales. Social security is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, but by long-standing convention, Northern Ireland maintains ‘parity’ with the social security systems in Great Britain. PIP exists in Northern Ireland and has the same eligibility rules and rates as in England and Wales.

Disability benefits are a devolved matter in Scotland. The Scottish Government has introduced a new benefit – Adult Disability Payment (ADP) – to replace PIP in Scotland. The Scottish Government expects that all existing PIP claimants in Scotland will have transferred to ADP by the end of 2025.