CHARITIES have welcomed the inclusion of disabled people in a new review of personal independence payment (Pip) but warned it “cannot become about making cuts.”

Disability minister Sir Stephen Timms said the government is putting “disabled people at the heart of” the review, announced last year after proposed restrictions to Pip were dropped following a Commons rebellion. 

Ministers have promised that no changes to the benefit will be made until the review is complete.

The review is due to report to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden by autumn, with an interim update expected before then. 

A 12-member steering group with lived experience will advise the review.

The Disability Benefits Consortium said the process offers a chance for real change to assessments that are “not only stressful.”

Its policy co-chairman Charles Gillies said it was “undeniably positive” but warned: “Crucially, it cannot become about making cuts.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said Pip claims have “grown considerably,” from two million working-age recipients in 2019 to a projected four million by the end of the decade.

The government said the review aims to ensure Pip is “fair and fit for the future.”