Benefits and Work has started receiving emails from readers concerned that disability benefits including PIP, DLA and AA are about to be means-tested.
Although there have been rumours about this for several weeks, the issue gained further prominence due to a question put by shadow DWP secretary of state Jonathan Ashworth to the current DWP secretary of state, Mel Stride on Monday.
Ashworth asked “Can he give a categorical assurance that in the Autumn statement he will rule out means-testing personal independence payment, carers allowance attendance allowance and disability living allowance for children.”
Stride’s response was to avoid answering the question: “The right honourable gentleman is inviting me to break with what has been a very, very long-standing and quite correct convention that when it comes to a major fiscal event, ministers simply do not provide a running commentary as to what may or may not be in that fiscal event.”
In reality that ‘long-standing’ convention was broken as recently as 19 October when Liz Truss told the House at PMQs that the triple lock for pensioners would be maintained. However, in the same response on Monday, Stride also refused to confirm that the triple lock remained safe under Sunak.
So, at the moment, Benefits and Work can offer no reassurance to readers about what the current administration will or won’t do on 17 November. All we can suggest is that people don’t assume the worst and instead wait for concrete information.
UPDATE 06/11
Writing about the conservatives budget plans in the Guardian on Sunday, political commentator Andrew Rawnsley quoted a senior Tory as saying “They are flying a lot of kites to see which ones attract most fire.”
Readers who have strong feelings about the possibility of disability benefits being means-tested might want to contact their MP as a matter of urgency - especially if they are a conservative - to make sure that they are aware that this is a kite which is likely to attract a great deal of fire.
If you do email your MP, please considering posting a comment below and letting us know what you told them. It may encourage other readers to do the same.
UPDATE 15/11
A DWP minister has now said that PIP and DLA will not be means-tested
