A review of disability benefits is not expected to lead to “crude proposals” for changes to benefits for claimants, the minister leading the report has said.
Sir Stephen Timms told the BBC his interim review of Personal Independence Payment (Pip) found the benefit was “not fit for purpose” and promised “fundamental changes” to the guidelines due in the autumn.
The Disability Secretary said the “sustainability” of benefit costs, which are forecast to rise to more than £41 billion by 2030, “will be an issue as we make these decisions”.
Last year the UK government asked Sir Stephen to review whether Pip was “fair and fit for the future”. Its initial report will be published on Thursday.
The interim report concludes that PIP is not working for the benefit of millions of disabled people or the government and calls for a radical overhaul of the assessment system.
In evidence submitted for review, Pip applicants described the assessment process as “inhumane” for people with disabilities and barriers to work.
The report also highlights the sharp increase in the number of PIP recipients in recent years and the projected increase in benefit costs.
Pip is a benefit that people with long-term illnesses and disabilities can claim if they need help with the extra costs of living, working and caring.
Eligibility for PIP is determined through an assessment.
Under the current scoring system, applicants are rated by a health professional on a scale of 0 to 12 on daily tasks such as bathing, dressing and preparing meals.
Speaking to the BBC, Sir Stephen said Pip “does very important work in helping people cope with the extra costs of being disabled”.
But the minister said disabled people told the review the assessment could be “humiliating” and “keep you from participating in society”.
“We also found that it has not kept pace with the changing understanding of health and disability over the last 13 years since the benefit was introduced, so we do believe that very fundamental changes are needed,” Sir Stephen.
As of April this year, there were around four million Pip claimants in England and Wales.
The number of Pip recipients has risen significantly since the benefit was introduced in 2013, with the rise driven by claimants citing mental health problems in recent years.