Benefit cap could see countless PIP claimants left homeless after cuts, but DWP has no idea how many

Thousands of disabled people could lose out on thousands of pounds a year in housing benefit – and face eviction – because of the government’s cuts to disability benefits, but ministers have no idea how many will lose out and risk homelessness.

Almost nothing has so far been said or written about the impact of the cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) on disabled people who are currently exempt from the benefit cap.

The benefit cap imposes a limit – currently about £22,000 for couples and lone parents outside Greater London – on the total amount of benefits working-age claimants can receive.

But those who receive some benefits – including PIP and the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of universal credit – are exempt from the cap.

This means that the cuts announced in March’s Pathways to Work green paper – which will eventually reduce spending on PIP by more than £4.5 billion a year – could have a huge extra impact on many of those who lose their PIP.

Under the new rules proposed by Labour ministers, all claimants will have to be awarded at least four points on at least one “activity” to qualify for the PIP daily living component.

This will apply to new PIP claims and those having their awards reviewed from November 2026 onwards.

Joe Halewood, a supported housing consultant, warned last month that some current claimants who lose out could lose thousands of pounds a year on top of the amount they lose in PIP, because their housing benefit* will be cut by hundreds of pounds a month when they are no longer protected by the benefit cap.

He believes this could lead to thousands of disabled people being evicted from social housing and left homeless.

After reading the post and contacting Halewood, Disability News Service (DNS) submitted a freedom of information request to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to ask how many current PIP claimants it believed would no longer be exempt from the benefit cap due to its planned cuts.

DNS also asked how many would lose certain amounts from their housing benefit every month due to no longer being exempt from the benefit cap.

And it asked for any documents that have been shown to ministers that deal with the benefit cap issue and which discuss how the government can avoid widespread evictions.

But in response, the department said it would be too expensive to provide the information because it would take more than the equivalent of 24 staff hours to produce it as it would “require new and complex data matching across multiple data sources”.

This means civil servants have not yet discussed the issue with ministers, or estimated how many disabled people will lose out, and by how much.

Inclusion London, which has campaigned for action on accessible housing and disability poverty, said it was shocked that DWP had failed to research how many disabled people would lose their benefit cap exemption and face possible eviction.

Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns and justice at Inclusion London, said: “We are extremely concerned about the devastating impact that losing PIP will have on disabled people’s housing.

“The impact will be particularly severe in London, with its extortionately high housing costs and the biggest number of disabled people who rent privately.

“PIP exempts people from the benefits cap and it also helps to pay higher housing costs.

“Losing this will expose people to eviction, move more into costly temporary accommodation, and ultimately force many to opt for homes that do not meet their needs.

“Our research shows that one in four Londoners who need an accessible home already can’t access basic facilities in their home.

“This move will not only cost more for the public purse, it will devastate the lives of many thousands of people.

“We urge the government to stop and rethink these harmful reforms.”

Caroline Collier, from Inclusion Barnet’s Campaign for Disability Justice (CDJ), said the “vital issue” had so far been “profoundly under-recognised and under-explored” since the green paper was published.

She said: “It will undoubtedly have an impact on homelessness, and all the issues that go with that.

“We are very concerned, therefore, that the DWP has not already produced data for politicians outlining the number of disabled people who will be affected.

“It is hard to avoid the suspicion that none of the ramifications of these very unwise and unjust proposals have been properly thought through.

“It is clear that the effects will be appalling, and any proper impact assessment would highlight the likely huge increase in mental health issues, homelessness, breakdown in caring arrangements and utter desperation that would likely follow their implementation.”

In its submission to the green paper consultation – and in a briefing to the London mayor’s office – CDJ has warned that the PIP changes would affect exemptions from both the benefit cap and the shared accommodation rate of housing benefit, which means that under-35s only receive enough for a single room in shared accommodation.

Collier said these issues will be “particularly acute in London due to the high housing costs”.

DWP’s press office was unable to explain why the department had not worked out how many PIP claimants would be hit by the new four-point rule and lose their benefit cap exemption, or why ministers had not even discussed this issue with civil servants.

But a DWP spokesperson said in a statement: “The majority of people who are currently getting PIP will continue to receive it.

“We have also announced a review of the PIP assessment, and we will be working with disabled people and key organisations representing them to consider how best to do this as we deliver on our Plan for Change.”

The department said it had published some information on the impact of its cuts and would be publishing more in the coming months, and that it was consulting on how best to support those impacted by the new PIP eligibility changes, while also reviewing the PIP assessment process.

Meanwhile, Richard Burgon, who is among the Labour MPs on the left of the party who are opposing the cuts to disability benefits, has asked whether the government department responsible for housing issues has examined the issues raised by the PIP cuts and the benefit cap.

He asked what estimate the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has made of the potential costs of the Pathways to Work cuts.

But local government minister Jim McMahon told him in a written answer on Friday that Pathways to Work was still out to consultation and so was “not current policy, and a full assessment will be made in the usual way at the appropriate time”.

Burgon said on Twitter/X: “The disability benefit cuts will push many into homelessness.

“So I asked the Government the expected cost of this higher homelessness. They’ve not even bothered to look at this yet!

“Yet the vote is expected next month. Totally irresponsible. These cruel cuts must be dropped.”

*Or the housing element of universal credit

Picture: Protesters at an Inclusion London accessible housing protest last summer

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