Voters are against replacing disability benefits with vouchers and believe the welfare payments should be more generous, a survey shows.
The majority of UK adults do not think personal independence payments (PIP) are too high despite attempts by successive ministers to bring forward cuts.
And the public are also against replacing the money – which is to help people living with a disability with day to day activities and mobility – with vouchers, polling carried out by Savanta on behalf of i revealed.
The proposal was put forward by the former Conservative government to drive down the rising cost of disability benefits.
Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has not ruled out including the idea in her own reforms, which are expected to be set out next year.
Just one in four (23 per cent) of adults polled earlier this month said they support a voucher scheme replacing the current benefit system, with a majority (62 per cent) being in favour of PIP being paid in cash.
Support for maintaining cash payments was cross-party, according to the survey, with 2024 Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Reform voters agreeing.
The Government is preparing to set out proposals to cut economic inactivity by getting more people into work and imposing tougher sanctions on young people who refuse education or employment.
The announcement is part of a wider drive to bring down welfare spending and ministers are also looking to reform disability and incapacity benefits as a means to save money.
Changes to the disability benefit system are expected to be proposed, and consulted on next year, and ministers have come in for criticism for leaving claimants in a state of uncertainty.
Kendall has insisted her government will come forward with its own plans but has not ruled out looking again at proposals mooted by her predecessor.
These include raising the bar for disability benefits, introducing a tiered approach to payments and replacing cash with home improvement services or vouchers.
According to the survey of 2,228 voters, UK adults overestimate the amount of PIP paid to a claimant over four weeks.
Only 14 per cent thought it was close to the actual standard rate of £290 for everyday tasks. Some 39 per cent guessed the payments were over £500 and 21 per cent thought they were as high as £700.
Despite this, UK adults are more likely to say that PIP is too low (30 per cent) rather than too high (12 per cent).
Speaking to MPs earlier this month, Kendall declined to rule out taking the voucher proposal forward under plans to cut the benefit bill for taxpayers.
“I was very struck particularly by the comments people made around shifting support to vouchers and where many organisations said their real concern was that it took away people’s autonomy and particularly when services are so stretched and tight,” Kendall said.
“I will be putting forward our own proposals to reform sickness and disability benefits,” she added. “But based on those clear principles – getting the decisions right first time, early intervention, genuine support to help people into work, [and to] help people live fulfilling and independent lives.”
Pressed on whether she would rule out a voucher system, she declined to do so.
Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta said benefit vouchers “are simply not popular with the public, even for voters who traditionally support lower spending on the welfare state, such as Conservative or Reform UK voters”.
“The majority of voters across all major parties believe that PIP should be made in cash to a bank account, as is currently the case,” he said.
“Interestingly, only one in seven voters could correctly identify a standard four-week PIP payment – most suggesting a level far higher than is the reality. Despite this, UK adults are actually more likely to say that PIP is too low, rather than too high.”
The proposed changes to the welfare system are part of a wider plan to tackle the rise in numbers of people claiming disability benefits, which is expected to cost the taxpayer £28bn a year by 2028/29 – a 110 per cent rise in spending since 2019.
Ministers are due to set out the next steps for reforming PIP in the coming spring, as revealed by i, and are expected to review the eligibility criteria for PIP to reduce the pool of people who can claim.
The changes will mean young people will lose their benefits if they refuse to take up work and training opportunities.
The Labour Government has said it will stick to a commitment under the former Tory administration to reduce the welfare bill by £3 billion over five years.
Under the previous government, welfare eligibility would have been tightened so around 400,000 more people signed off long-term would be assessed as needing to prepare for work by 2028/29 to deliver the savings.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We are committed to championing the rights of disabled people so their views and voices are at the heart of all we do. We are now considering the responses to the consultation.”
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