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Economist Paul Johnson outlines three options to reduce PIP costs as Timms Review pending
Economist Paul Johnson has proposed three ways to reduce spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP), including stricter criteria and different treatment of mental health conditions. His remarks have drawn criticism from claimants, while the government awaits the Timms Review into the benefit.
By Tertius News AI Desk2 distinct · 4 mastheads · 4 articlesVersion 1Coverage Published
distinct = voices after wire copies and reprints of the same article collapse; mastheads = publisher names; articles = URLs
PIP cost reduction options outlined
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been presented with three potential avenues to bring down the cost of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the UK's main disability benefit. Economist Paul Johnson, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, outlined the options available to the Labour government in comments reported by the i paper this week.
Mr Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are grappling with the rapidly expanding welfare bill as they await the findings of the Timms Review into PIP, being conducted by cabinet member Sir Stephen Timms. Earlier this year, Mr Timms declared that PIP was "not fit for purpose" and required wholesale reform, though he noted the "current level of spending is not a great concern". However, "what would be a concern would be if it carried on going up forever more", he warned.
Speaking to the i paper, Mr Johnson urged the Government to actively pursue a reduction in expenditure. "I would hope that we end up with the Timms Review and policy following it, which does actually explicitly look to reduce the spending," he stated. He then set out three possibilities: "There are different ways of getting it down. We could just be tighter with the criteria. We could treat mental health issues differently to how we do at the moment. We could just provide a lot more support to get people into work." He added: "But I don't think it is sort of sensible for us to be spending that much more in a completely unplanned way, and then just saying, 'Well, that's fine, we'll carry on as before'."
The suggestions come amid rising costs of PIP, which is currently worth up to £194 a week. According to reports, total claims for mental health-related conditions have more than doubled over the last six years, rising from around 700,000 in 2019 to around 1.5 million now, contributing to a ballooning disability benefits bill. The interim Timms report suggested conditions like anxiety or depression may no longer qualify, or that it would become harder for people with these complaints to meet the threshold.
Reaction from claimants
Mr Johnson's remarks prompted a significant backlash from PIP claimants on social media platform X. One commented: "Another mediocre know-it-all using the most vulnerable in our society to make a name for himself. Hounding people who have so little is what makes a broken Britain." Another added: "What a surprise, a multi-millionaire former company director says that others should bear the brunt!"
The government has not yet responded to Mr Johnson's proposals. The Timms Review, tasked with proposing a future for PIP that gets the benefit bill down, is expected to make recommendations in the coming months.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: The headline emphasizes a major update for PIP households regarding possible 'cuts' associated with Andy Burnham's government — The tone is measured, presenting both the uncertainty and the critiques without overt alarm
Facts Included:
The UK's main disability benefit is currently under review
Households who claim Personal Independence Payments (PIP) have been sent a major update over possible cuts to the benefit
PIP is currently under review, with recommendations for its future to be put forward to Andy Burnham's Government over the coming months
This will likely see support scaled back for certain conditions
This could include mental health-related conditions like depression and anxiety
it's now reported welfare reforms will be put off into 2027
The Timms Review, tasked with proposing a future for PIP which gets the benefit bill down, has already concluded it is "not fit for purpose"
Costs have ballooned over recent years, largely linked to mental health-related claims among young adults
Critics say it has become too easy for people to claim PIP, currently worth up to £194 a week to support people with conditions and disabilities, and associated costs
The amount will rise again from next April as part of annual inflation-linked increases
The interim Timms report suggested conditions like anxiety or depression may no longer qualify, or that it would become harder for people with these complaints to meet the threshold
The document pointed specifically to these sorts of claims becoming a major expense
Total claims for these conditions have more than doubled over the last six years, resulting in a ballooning disability benefits bill
The i Paper reports changes to PIP, and wider welfare reform, will now be put off until next year
Framing: The headline emphasizes that Andy Burnham has been given three options for PIP cuts to reduce the welfare bill.
Facts Included:
Andy Burnham has been presented with three potential avenues to bring down the cost of Personal Independence Payment.
Economist Paul Johnson, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has outlined the options available to the Labour Prime Minister.
Mr Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are grappling with the rapidly expanding welfare bill as they await the findings of the Timms Review into PIP, being conducted by cabinet member Sir Stephen Timms.
Earlier this year, Mr Timms declared that PIP was "not fit for purpose" and required wholesale reform, though he noted the "current level of spending is not a great concern".
However, "what would be a concern would be if it carried on going up forever more", he warned.
Speaking to the i paper this week, Mr Johnson urged the Government to actively pursue a reduction in expenditure.
"I would hope that we end up with the Timms Review and policy following it, which does actually explicitly look to reduce the spending," he stated, reports Birmingham Live.
He then proceeded to set out the three possibilities, saying: "There are different ways of getting it down.
"We could just be tighter with the criteria.
We could treat mental health issues differently to how we do at the moment.
"We could just provide a lot more support to get people into work.
"But I don't think it is sort of sensible for us to be spending that much more in a completely unplanned way, and then just saying, 'Well, that's fine, we'll carry on as before'."
However, Mr Johnson's remarks prompted a significant backlash from PIP claimants on X.
One commented: "Another mediocre know-it-all using the most vulnerable in our society to make a name for himself.
"Hounding people who have so little is what makes a broken Britain."
Another added: "What a surprise, a multi-millionaire former company director says that others should bear the
Andy Burnham has been presented with three potential avenues to bring down the cost of Personal Independence Payment.
Economist Paul Johnson, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has outlined the options available to the Labour Prime Minister.
Mr Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are grappling with the rapidly expanding welfare bill as they await the findings of the Timms Review into PIP, being conducted by cabinet member Sir Stephen Timms.
Earlier this year, Mr Timms declared that PIP was "not fit for purpose" and required wholesale reform, though he noted the "current level of spending is not a great concern".
However, "what would be a concern would be if it carried on going up forever more", he warned.
Speaking to the i paper this week, Mr Johnson urged the Government to actively pursue a reduction in expenditure.
"I would hope that we end up with the Timms Review and policy following it, which does actually explicitly look to reduce the spending," he stated, reports Birmingham Live.
He then proceeded to set out the three possibilities, saying: "There are different ways of getting it down.
"We could just be tighter with the criteria.
We could treat mental health issues differently to how we do at the moment.
"We could just provide a lot more support to get people into work.
"But I don't think it is sort of sensible for us to be spending that much more in a completely unplanned way, and then just saying, 'Well, that's fine, we'll carry on as before'."
However, Mr Johnson's remarks prompted a significant backlash from PIP claimants on X.
One commented: "Another mediocre know-it-all using the most vulnerable in our society to make a name for himself.
"Hounding people who have so little is what makes a broken Britain."
Another added: "What a surprise, a multi-millionaire former company director says that others should bear the
Framing: Andy Burnham given 3 options for PIP cuts to get welfare bill down — Mixed — the article reports the economist's proposals in a measured way but also includes critical reactions from claimants, creating a balanced but slightly adversarial tone
Facts Included:
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is awaiting the Timms Review into PIP as economist Paul Johnson outlines three options
Andy Burnham has been presented with three potential avenues to bring down the cost of Personal Independence Payment
Economist Paul Johnson, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has outlined the options available to the Labour Prime Minister
Mr Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are grappling with the rapidly expanding welfare bill as they await the findings of the Timms Review into PIP, being conducted by cabinet member Sir Stephen Timms
Earlier this year, Mr Timms declared that PIP was 'not fit for purpose' and required wholesale reform, though he noted the 'current level of spending is not a great concern'
'However, what would be a concern would be if it carried on going up forever more', he warned
Speaking to the i paper this week, Mr Johnson urged the Government to actively pursue a reduction in expenditure
'I would hope that we end up with the Timms Review and policy following it, which does actually explicitly look to reduce the spending,' he stated, reports Birmingham Live
He then proceeded to set out the three possibilities, saying: 'There are different ways of getting it down'
'We could just be tighter with the criteria'
'We could treat mental health issues differently to how we do at the moment'
'We could just provide a lot more support to get people into work'
'But I don't think it is sort of sensible for us to be spending that much more in a completely unplanned way, and then just saying, Well, that's fine, we'll carry on as before'
However, Mr Johnson's remarks prompted a significant backlash from PIP claimants on X
One commented: 'Another mediocre know-it-all using the most vulnerable in our society to make a name for himself'
'Hounding people who have so little is what makes a broken Britain'
Another added: 'What a surprise, a multi-millionaire former company director says that others should bear the'
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Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the mastheads we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimAndy Burnham has been presented with three potential avenues to bring down the cost of Personal Independence Payment.
ClaimMr Burnham and Chancellor John Healey are grappling with the rapidly expanding welfare bill as they await the findings of the Timms Review into PIP, being conducted by cabinet member Sir Stephen Timms.
ClaimEarlier this year, Mr Timms declared that PIP was 'not fit for purpose' and required wholesale reform, though he noted the 'current level of spending is not a great concern'.
ClaimPaul Johnson stated: 'I would hope that we end up with the Timms Review and policy following it, which does actually explicitly look to reduce the spending.'
ClaimPaul Johnson said: 'But I don't think it is sort of sensible for us to be spending that much more in a completely unplanned way, and then just saying, Well, that's fine, we'll carry on as before.'
ClaimCritics say it has become too easy for people to claim PIP, currently worth up to £194 a week to support people with conditions and disabilities, and associated costs.
ClaimThe interim Timms report suggested conditions like anxiety or depression may no longer qualify, or that it would become harder for people with these complaints to meet the threshold.