DWP shares PIP plans for people with back, joint, and muscle health conditions

Earlier this month, the benefits section announced that radical with musculoskeletal conditions volition beryllium treated "quicker" to assistance them get into enactment arsenic portion of the Government’s caller "Get Britain Working" achromatic paper

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) precocious revealed caller plans to enactment radical with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions arsenic portion of its shake-up to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Earlier this month, the benefits department announced that radical with musculoskeletal conditions volition beryllium treated "quicker" to assistance them get backmost into enactment arsenic portion of the Government’s caller "Get Britain Working" achromatic paper.

According to a study by Daily Record, arsenic portion of the government's program to tackle "economic inactivity", 17 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) crossed England volition stock portion of a £3.5million bundle to amended attraction services for musculoskeletal conditions. According to the latest DWP figures, astatine the extremity of October 2024, much than 1.1 cardinal radical successful England and Wales were receiving PIP for MSK conditions.

PIP - which is paid each 4 weeks - is made up of 2 components - a regular surviving complaint and a mobility complaint - and you tin beryllium entitled to some oregon conscionable 1 of these. These components are past divided again into the modular complaint and the enhanced complaint and from April they volition beryllium rising similar different DWP benefits.

Currently, the little complaint for the Daily Living constituent sits astatine £72.65 a week - rising to £73.90 from April. The higher complaint is presently £108.55 a week and volition beryllium rising to £110.40 successful April. The little complaint for the mobility constituent sits astatine £28.70, rising to £29.20 a week, and the higher complaint is £75.75 a week, rising to £77.05 a week successful April. It's besides important to enactment that PIP is not an out-of-work payment - and you tin assertion the other currency if you person a job. The extremity of the payment is to enactment with the other costs that comes with having a aesculapian information oregon wellness disability.

The backing - called the MSK Community Delivery Programme - volition beryllium delivered done NHS England's Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) programme. Each country successful England and Wales - but not Scotland - is acceptable to person up to £300,000 to amended services. This includes processing much businesslike ways of treating patients, getting them disconnected waiting lists and getting them into employment.

Several of the 17 ICB locations spearheading the transportation of this programme besides big NHS England’s Further Faster 20 programme and the UK Government’s precocious announced WorkWell programme.

Minister for Employment Alison McGovern MP, said: “For excessively long, radical locked retired of enactment with wellness issues person been forgotten astir and denied the enactment they request to get good and get working. It’s stifling our system and preventing those anxious to advancement successful beingness from unleashing their afloat potential.

“This multi-million-pound backing boost means musculoskeletal patients crossed the state volition get the assistance they need, arsenic we springiness objective leaders the resources to innovate, get radical disconnected waiting lists and get Britain moving again.”

According to authorities figures, much than 9 cardinal radical successful the UK are classed arsenic "economically inactive." This word describes idiosyncratic who is not moving oregon looking for work. Alongside this, 2.8million radical are retired of enactment owed to semipermanent sickness.

Mental wellness issues are listed arsenic the main wellness reasons down PIP claims, followed by MSK, with astir 646,000 radical - astir 1 successful 4 (23%) - saying MSK was their "primary condition". Waiting lists for MSK services are besides immoderate of the highest, with 348,799 radical waiting for attraction successful England successful September 2024 alone.

Minister for Public Health and Prevention Andrew Gwynne added: “With prevention, aboriginal detection and treatment, we cognize that the 17 cardinal radical with musculoskeletal issues successful England could amended negociate their conditions, improving their prime of beingness and enabling them to rejoin the workforce. Through the Plan for Change, the authorities is taking decisive enactment to thrust down waiting lists, amended attraction options and boost the economy.”

The authorities announced its Get Britain Working White Paper successful November, and further details of the plans are expected to beryllium acceptable retired - alongside Labour's plans for wellness and disablement payment reforms - successful the spring.