What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

More than 250,000 disabled pensioners will be spared cruel repeated tests to prove they deserve benefits, Amber Rudd will announce on Tuesday.

From this Spring, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants over the state pension age will no longer face "unnecessary" reviews every few years.

Instead it is thought the claimants, of which there are currently around 270,000, will face “light touch” reviews of their condition once a decade.

The Tory welfare chief will also "look to" merge tests for two benefits, ESA and PIP, into one system, and could upgrade targets to help more disabled people into work.

Charities welcomed the shake-up but demanded Ms Rudd go further - warning "millions of others will still be stuck in a failing system".

Ms Rudd will confirm the moves in a speech pledging to "change the landscape" and “smooth the path” for the disabled after years of warnings they are being pushed into destitution.

(Image: PA)

She will admit "we need to do more" to "close the gap" between intentions and reality.

But she will claim the changes are "a step forward in improving quality of life for the UK’s 14million disabled people".

It follows a similar reprieve last July for people with severe and progressive conditions on PIP, which is worth up to £145 a week.

Drawing on her family history, the Work and Pensions Secretary will say: "My father became blind in 1981.

"For thirty-six years his blindness was a normal part of my family’s life. Of my life.

"I reflected on my father’s lack of sight, and how it affected his life and the lives of those who loved him, as I considered my role in supporting disabled people in Britain."

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

(Image: Dan Kitwood)

In a major development, Ms Rudd will open the door to merging tests for two sickness and disability benefits, PIP and ESA, into a single "assessment service".

The tests, outsourced to private firms Atos and Capita (PIP) and Maximus (ESA), cost hundreds of millions of pounds a year to run and face a barrage of complaints.

Since PIP launched in 2013, 166,000 claimants have overturned their assessment at appeal.

And both PIP tests and the ESA Work Capability Assessments - better known as the "fit-for-work test" - were overturned by 68% of appeals last year.

It is understood the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will launch a trial later this year combining tests for both benefits into a single "assessment service", overseen by an internal DWP system.

Officials claimed the move would give claimants a "more joined-up approach".

But sources said it was too early to say how or when the trial for a small number of claimants will be expanded.

And it is still unclear how Atos, Capita or Maximus would divide work that is currently split between multiple contracts.

(Image: PA)

Genevieve Edwards, of the MS Society warned neither of the tests reflect the reality of MS and "bringing them together won’t make things better."

She added: "It’s like harnessing two donkeys to a farm cart and expecting it to transform into a race chariot."

Elsewhere Ms Rudd will announce she is reviewing the goal to see a million more disabled people in work by 2027, with a view to making it more ambitious.

Ms Edwards added: "While it’s good news that older disabled people will no longer have to go through unnecessary and stressful reassessments, millions of others will still be stuck in a failing system."

Mark Hodgkinson, chief executive of disability charity Scope, welcomed the announcement and said it was "pleased the government recognises welfare assessments aren’t working for disabled people."

But he added: "A more radical overhaul of the PIP and ESA tests is needed.

"Scope research shows that disabled people face extra costs adding up to on average £583 per month.

“Disabled people also want to see action taken to scrap counterproductive benefit sanctions. They make it harder for disabled people to get into work."

(Image: Alamy Stock Photo)

Mencap policy chief Dan Scorer said: "It's positive to see that pensioners will be exempt from being re-assessed.

"But this needs to also be the case for disabled people of working age, for whom frequent re-assessment can be extremely stressful and is often unnecessary.

"People with a learning disability are more likely to live in poverty than those without and we know that both the 'fit for work' and the 'Personal Independent Payments' assessments currently have flaws which can exacerbate their financial difficulties.

"There is a risk that merging the two could still result in one inadequate assessment, so we want Government to prioritise improving these processes so that accessing benefits is no longer a source of anxiety and hardship for people with a learning disability."

Ms Rudd will say in a speech to disability charity Scope: “Disabled pensioners have paid into our system for their whole lives and deserve the full support of the State when they need it most.

“This Government therefore intends to change the landscape for disabled people in Britain: to level the terrain and smooth their path."

(Image: Empics Entertainment)

She will add: "People with disabilities and health conditions have enough challenges in life; so my ambition is to significantly improve how DWP supports disabled people and those with health conditions.

“Progress has been made, but we need to do more to close the gap between our intentions and disabled people’s experiences.

“The benefits system should be the ally of disabled people. It should protect them, and ensure that the assistance the Government provides arrives in the right place to those who need it most."

Pensioners can only claim PIP if they were already on the benefit, or its predecessor DLA, when they reached the state pension age.

New claimants over the state pension age must apply for Attendance Allowance instead.

Margaret Greenwood, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "This announcement is a drop in the ocean when compared to the suffering caused by the Conservatives’ cruel Personal Independence Payment and Work Capability Assessments.

“Labour will end both of these assessments in their entirety, replacing them with a framework that treats disabled people with dignity and respect.