(Updated, adding information from interview in pars 15 and 16)

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride has claimed that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to people with certain disabilities amounts to “thousands of pounds” every month.

Evaluation: False

The maximum amount that one person can get from PIP is around £798.63 per month, which is less than “thousands of pounds”.

The facts

Mr Stride was speaking about PIP as he laid out a consultation on proposed reforms to the system to the audience of BBC Breakfast on April 29.

He said: “What we know with PIP is that it’s a very blunt benefit, so you get a fixed amount of money per month, irrespective in many ways of your condition – in some cases that may be a condition that needs something like a grab rail to get into the bath and various other appliances of that kind – which are relatively inexpensive, you might even be able to get them from your local authority or local NHS, and yet the PIP benefit is thousands of pounds a month.”

The Department for Work and Pensions told the PA news agency the Secretary of State misspoke during the live interview and had meant to say “thousands of pounds a year”.

What is PIP?

PIP is a benefit designed to help people who face extra living costs because they live with long-term physical or mental health conditions or disabilities and because their conditions create difficulties doing everyday tasks or getting around.

People can get PIP even if they are in work, have savings or are getting other benefit payments.

To be eligible people must be 16 years old or over and their difficulties must be expected to last for at least a year from when they started. People who live in Scotland apply to a different system.

How much money is paid through PIP? 

PIP is split into two parts. There is a daily living component and a mobility component.

People claiming PIP can get payments for both daily living and for mobility. These people are assessed by the Department for Work and Pensions and are either paid the “higher” rate or the “lower” rate for both.

According to Citizens Advice, which refers to them as standard and enhanced rates: “If the DWP decision maker decides that your ability to carry out the component is limited, you will get the standard rate. If it’s severely limited, you will get the enhanced rate.”

For daily living the lower rate is £72.65 per week and the higher rate is £108.55 per week. For mobility the lower rate is £28.70 per week and the higher rate is £75.75 per week.

That means that somebody who gets the higher rate on both components will be receiving £184.30 per week (£108.55 + £75.75).

Over a year that adds up to £9,583.60, and per month it is £798.63.

The Department for Work and Pensions told the PA news agency the Secretary of State misspoke during the live interview and had meant to say “thousands of pounds a year”.

On ITV’s Good Morning Britain the same day Mr Stride said people were “receiving thousands of pounds year in, year out”.

Links

Mel Stride interview on BBC Breakfast (archived clip from post on X (archived))

Gov.uk – Personal Independence Payment (PIP), What PIP is for (archived)

Gov.uk – Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Eligibility (archived)

Gov.uk – Personal Independence Payment (PIP), How much you’ll get (archived)

Citizens Advice – How the DWP makes a decision on PIP claims (archived)

ITV Good Morning Britain (archived post and video)