Stopping Pip for ADHD or autism would not make big savings, says thinktank

Resolution Foundation says ‘crude changes’ to benefits system would probably make it harder for people to work

Banning people with anxiety, ADHD or autism from claiming disability benefits would not deliver major financial savings and would probably make it harder for them to get or stay in a job and participate in society, a leading thinktank has warned.

But it warned that Pip was “failing on several fronts” and called for a major overhaul to keep a lid on costs – currently rising at an “unsustainable” rate – and restore public trust in a benefit widely seen as unfair and dysfunctional.

About £4.4bn a year could be saved if Pip support was better targeted, it said. Cash support could be removed from an estimated one in six working-age Pip claimants (670,000) who report having no extra costs as a result of their disability.

Official concern over Pip has soared in recent years, in part because of the rapidly rising number of claimants, particularly among young people, with much of that sharp increase linked to claims for mental health, ADHD and autism.

Attempts by the previous Labour administration under Keir Starmer to push through £5bn of crude savings to Pip collapsed last year amid a rebellion of backbench MPs. His successor, Andy Burnham, has said renewed attempts to reform benefits would not involve “crude cuts”.

Pip has also found itself at the heart of culture war rows, with some, such as the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, arguing it should not be paid to claimants with so-called “mild” conditions that were not disabling or likely to incur higher daily living costs.

Lindsay Judge, the thinktank’s research director, said: “Pip is a vital benefit for disabled people that enables them to participate in society and live fuller and more active lives. But the current system is failing on several fronts – claimants don’t trust it, awards don’t fully reflect the nature of disability today and spending is rising unsustainably.

“There is no perfect system of disability support, but one that better reflects the fact that people often have multiple and fluctuating conditions must target greater support and engagement where it’s needed, and avoid waste where it’s not.”