Government plan to keep Pip payouts for 13 weeks ‘not very much’, says MP

A Labour MP has described the Government’s plans to avert a rebellion on welfare cuts as “not very much really”.

Dr Simon Opher, a GP and the MP for Stroud, told the BBC he is “going to rebel” in a vote and “a number of colleagues are in the same situation”.

The “non-negotiable” protections that Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is to include in the Welfare Reform Bill are understood to include a guarantee that those who no longer qualify for personal independence payments (Pip) will still receive the payments for 13 weeks.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday, Dr Opher said: “It’s a slight delay in the disability cuts – it’s 13 weeks rather than four weeks – so it’s something, but not very much really.

“And it doesn’t change the basic fact that they’re… planning to cut disability payment to quite a lot of people really.

“So not terribly impressed, but it’s something at least.”

Backlash

The Government has faced a backlash from its own MPs over the package of measures, aimed at reducing the number of working age people on sickness benefits.

Dozens of Labour MPs last month urged the Prime Minister to pause and reassess planned cuts, saying the proposals were “impossible to support”.

Asked whether he would rebel if the measures came to a vote in the Commons, Dr Opher told the programme: “I am going to rebel.

“And this comes hard to me, I’ve never actually voted against the Government and I know a number of colleagues in the same situation.

“So I just urge the Government really to just consider parts of this again.”

Transition

A Green Paper laid out proposals for a “transitional protection for those who are no longer eligible for Pip”, but the Government’s plans revealed this week clarify the 13-week length.

Ms Kendall told The Guardian earlier this week: “When we set out our reforms we promised to protect those most in need, particularly those who can never work.

“I know from my 15 years as a constituency MP how important this is. It is something I take seriously and will never compromise on.

“That is why we are putting additional protections on the face of the Bill to support the most vulnerable and help people affected by the changes.

“These protections will be written into law, a clear sign they are non-negotiable.”

A Government impact assessment published alongside the reforms warned that 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, across England, Scotland and Wales could fall into relative poverty after housing costs as a result of the changes.