Sir Stephen Timms, the minister leading Labour's review of health and disability benefits, has said the current cost of such payments is "not a great concern", playing down the case for outright cuts even as the Conservatives accuse the Government of being "in denial" about the spiralling welfare bill. Timms argued the priority should be making the system "financially sustainable" and preventing costs from rising "forever", rather than imposing reductions, and he suggested a genuine increase in ill health and disability since Covid was feeding through into higher claims. His comments, made as he released an interim report, matter because they signal the Government's cautious direction after a Labour revolt last year forced Sir Keir Starmer to abandon earlier attempts to curb spending.

The review focuses on personal independence payments (PIP), which help with everyday tasks and extra living costs for people with long-term conditions or disabilities and are paid regardless of income or wealth. Official figures earlier this year showed claimants of the main disability benefit in England and Wales passed four million for the first time, roughly double the 2019 level, partly owing to transfers from legacy benefits. Spending on PIP rose from about £15billion in 2019-20 to around £26billion in 2024-25 and is forecast to exceed £41billion by the end of the decade, while the OBR estimates total health and disability benefit spending will climb from £76.9billion in 2024-25 to £109.8billion in 2030-31. Timms said his team wanted a "better process", warning that for many people PIP had "become a barrier to participation, which is the opposite of what's intended".