Make disability benefits as 'easy as possible' to get, says Labour review

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 18:46 EDT, 10 September 2026 | Updated: 21:33 EDT, 10 September 2026 Sickness benefits should be made as 'easy as possible' to claim, according to a new government review.The long-awaited study led by welfare minister Sir Stephen Timms found the current system for claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is too 'stressful' for claimants – and called for a shake-up.The cost of PIP, which is now the main disability benefit, is on course to double in a decade and is forecast to top £40billion a year by 2030.New claims are being approved at the rate of more than 1,000 a day, fuelled by a post-pandemic rise in mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Almost four million people now receive the handout.But, despite the surge in claims, the new report found that the process is still too difficult for some. A draft recommendation published yesterday said the claim form should be redesigned to make it as 'easy as possible' for applicants.And it said the Department for Work and Pensions should adopt a 'more respectful tone' towards people claiming benefits. Those who 'struggle to articulate the impact of their condition' should be given access to an advocacy service to help them. Government sources insisted the shake-up could eventually free up resources to focus on helping claimants with milder conditions get back to work. But opposition politicians warned that it would do nothing to cut the runaway benefits bill. A study led by welfare minister Sir Stephen Timms (pictured) found the system for claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is too 'stressful' for claimantsShadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately MP said: 'Labour's answer to the ballooning welfare bill is to make benefits even easier to claim. They are so out of touch, it beggars belief.'Labour is simply too weak to cut welfare, and yesterday the Prime Minister admitted as much. Labour put social security before national security.'The Conservatives will cut the welfare bill, bring back face-to-face assessments, stop giving cash for anxiety and ADHD - and build a new system to support more disabled people into work.'Fellow Tory MP Joe Robertson, who sits on the Commons health committee, said the review was 'woeful'.'There is nothing to address the surge in mental health diagnosis and claims, especially among young people,' he said. 'The benefits bill is out of control and this review is a wasted opportunity.'And Reform UK's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said the findings 'prove the government has abandoned any attempts to tackle the ballooning benefits bill'.Mr Jenrick, whose plans include slashing £50billion from the welfare bill, added: 'They do nothing to stop migrants claiming benefits and many of them will actually make it easier for those who don't need it to claim PiP.'Government sources pointed to other recommendations to fix a system that the review said is 'no longer fit for purpose'.It suggests that people with serious conditions which will never allow them to work should face fewer reviews of their claims, freeing up more time to focus on those who might be able to work again.The review also opens the possibility that some claimants could be offered services in the form of in-kind benefits as part of their claim for the first time. But it says that cash handouts 'will remain the foundation of the award'.The Timms review was set up after Labour MPs forced the government to drop plans to trim £5billion from the welfare budget last year. Its terms of reference do not include identifying potential savings.Meanwhile, a new poll found widespread public support for restoring the two-child benefit cap, which was scrapped by Labour this year.The YouGov survey found that 61 per cent support bringing back the cap, compared with 24 per cent who oppose it.