Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to PIP on people claiming benefits in Leeds North West constituency.

Estimates of the volumes of PIP claimants affected by the reform in the future are forecast for England and Wales only and therefore have not been broken down by Parliamentary Constituency or any other geographic area.

After taking account of behavioural changes, OBR predicts that 370,000 people in England and Wales who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change.

The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment daily living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities, by Parliamentary Constituency area, is available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.26.

There will be no immediate changes. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. Changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.

We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.