Disability benefit cuts could push £1.2bn bill on NHS and councils

For every £1 saved on Pip, campaigners warn, £1.50 will have to be spent as local authorities step in

- Chaminda Jayanetti

The government's plans to cut at least £5bn from disability benefits could end up driving more costs on to cash-strapped councils, according to campaigners and local government officials.

Last week, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall published a green paper including a package of cuts to disability benefits. Up to 1.2 million fewer people could be eligible for Pip by 2029/30 as a result of the changes, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank, including existing claimants losing their benefits when their needs are reassessed.

Critics warn that, without the financial support of Pip, some people’s physical condition or mental health could worsen to the point that they require council-funded care services, while their unpaid carers could become ineligible for the carer’s allowance benefit, meaning they may have to pass their care responsibilities to the local authority.