More than 130 MPs, most of them backbenchers, are prepared to put their names to a “reasoned amendment”, which would stop plans to squeeze sickness and incapacity benefits.
The plans restrict eligibility for personal independence payments (PIP), the main disability payment in England, and limit the sickness-related element of universal credit.
However, analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that before the pandemic, the UK spent less on disability and sickness benefits than many OECD countries.
The UK spent 1.33 per cent in 2019 and 1.73 per cent in 2023 – still below the OECD average for 2019. An official forecast for it to rise to 2.1 per cent by 2028-29 would still only put the UK at 18th place and only just above the OECD average.
The main disability benefit in the UK is PIP.
The lower weekly rates are £73.90 for daily living (£320 a month) and £29.20 for mobility (£127 a month). The higher weekly rates are £110.40 (£478 a month) and £77.05 respectively (£334 a month).
PIP assessments involve questions about tasks like preparing and eating food, washing and getting dressed. A health professional scores these on a scale from 0 for no difficulty – to 12 for the most severe.
How does the UK compare to other nations?
Ben Baumberg Geiger, an expert on disability benefits and a professor of social science and health at King’s College London, said it is difficult to make international comparisons because they tend to have very different systems.
In many countries, the amounts disabled people receive are linked to their earnings, he said.
PIP is an unusual benefit in that it is not based on salary which therefore makes it difficult to compare.
The country’s spending was 3.8 per cent of GDP, far outpacing the UK’s figure of 1.3 per cent in 2019 and 1.73 per cent in 2023.
Annual income of up to NOK 780,960 (£56,722.75) is included in the calculation of the disability payments.
There are higher rates for people classed as a young disabled person. Those who are eligible were under 26 when they became ill and applied for disability benefits before the age of 36.
The minimum rate for someone living with a partner is NOK 303,143 (£21,925) or NOK 352,603 (£25,502) for a young disabled person.
Denmark
Professor Geiger said Denmark is one of the countries experts single out as having a benefits system that helps disabled people do well.
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Denmark ranked second-highest for its proportion of GDP spent on sickness and disability benefits in 2019, at about 4.5 per cent for total spending and 2.71 per cent on cash benefits.
If their capacity for work is permanently and substantially reduced to such a degree that they will never be able to provide for themselves by working, even in a flexible job, they may then be granted disability payments known as a disability pension.
The payments are reduced if their income exceeds DKK 90,000 (£10,297) for a single person or DKK 143,000 (£16,355) for those married or living with a partner.
A second country’s system Mayfield is looking at is the Netherlands, Professor Geiger said.
The country has very big incentives for employers to retain people when they develop a health condition.
At the end of that period, if the employer does not show they have done everything they can to help someone, such as early intervention and seeing if they can redeploy them elsewhere, employers then have to pay an extra year of sick pay.
Switzerland
Switzerland also has a big interest in supporting people to get back into work, Professor Geiger said.
The country’s social insurance system can also cover medical services and medical aids such as a wheelchair or hearing aid.
The disability pension is temporary and will be paid out until the age of 65 at the latest.
People are also entitled to receive an additional disability allowance if they are unable to perform two basic activities of daily life on their own, such as getting dressed, getting up, going to bed, preparing meals, eating and washing.
The payments are 70 per cent of someone’s pensionable base salary, 45 per cent of their pensionable base salary excess and 45 per cent of their last three pensionable awards.
The highest possible full DI (disability insurance) pension is currently 2,520 francs (£2,296) per month, according to Moneyland.ch.
Those who have not contributed to paying into the country’s social insurance scheme (similar in principle to the UK’s national insurance) continuously since the age of 21 only receive a partial disability pension.
The amount is reduced if people have an income. The maximum earnings in order to be eligible are €12,400 (£10,574) for a single person with no children or €22,444 (£19,139) for someone in a couple with no children.
Individuals drawing on any type of pension get the difference between the amount of their pension and the maximum amount of the allowance. To be eligible, people need to have a degree of disability of at least 50 per cent.
Australia
When applying for a disability support pension, the person must be unable to work for 15 or more hours per week, for at least the next two years, due to their impairment.
On top of this they can also get an extra supplement of up to AUS$83.60 (AUS$126 for couples), and an energy supplement of AUS$14.10 or AUS$21.20.
In New Zealand, a disability allowance of up to NZD$80.35 (£36) a week is available.
How much people get depends on the extra costs they have because of their disability.
What can the UK learn from other countries?
“It is very difficult to survive if you are not classified as having a health condition or disability and you need to rely on the benefits system,” he said. “That is not a helpful context and there are no successful countries which have that characteristic in place.”
Professor Geiger said the UK also needs to increase its “vocational rehabilitation” sector, which encompasses a range of services and interventions to help people overcome barriers to work.
He warned that simply cutting benefits for disabled people risks inflicting “poverty on a large group of people” who will still not be able to get work.
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