The Resolution Foundation has warned that banning people with anxiety, ADHD or autism from claiming personal independence payments (Pip) would not deliver major financial savings and could harm employment prospects.
The thinktank said such "crude changes" to the benefits system would probably make it harder for claimants to get or stay in work and participate in society. The foundation described proposals to make certain mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions ineligible for Pip as aimed at hitting "unrealistic savings targets."
The Resolution Foundation did not specify which government body or politicians had proposed such restrictions, though the warning suggests recent debate around Pip eligibility has focused on these conditions.
Personal independence payments are means-tested benefits designed to help people with disabilities or long-term health conditions meet extra costs. The foundation's analysis challenges the financial case often made for restricting access to the scheme based on diagnosis.
No figures were provided in the available excerpt detailing the actual cost to the welfare budget of Pip claims from people with ADHD, autism or anxiety, or what savings the foundation estimates such a ban would deliver.