For a statement that was initially viewed as “inconsequential” and “one to forget”, the political shockwaves from George Osborne’s mid-March budget continue to reverberate.

The rumblings over the planned £1.3bn-a-year “cut” to disability benefits, specifically Personal Independence Payments, started early. I use quote marks because what the Chancellor of the Exchequer actually proposed was a reduction in the planned increase in spending on PIP, made to adults with long-term disabilities that restrict mobility and the completion of daily tasks.

PIP expenditure is still expected to rise, the budget documents show, from £16.2bn this year to £18.2bn being allocated in 2019.

As recently as 2013, the Office for Budget Responsibility put the PIPs bill for 2019 at around £14bn, meaning the cost of the benefit has anyway already spiralled.