PIP was introduced in 2013 to replace Disability Living Allowance for people of working age to help with extra living costs caused by long-term disabilities or ill health.
How much people are given depends on how difficult they find everyday tasks and getting around. The maximum weekly payment is £184.30.
You can claim PIP whether you have a job or not.
The most recent statistics, external say more than 3.3 million people in Britain receive PIP to help with the extra cost of living with a health condition or disability. Some claimants are of retirement age but are eligible because they received support when they were of working age.
The cash can be used for things like special diets, additional laundry, accessible transport and higher insurance costs.
The government has said spending on PIP was expected to grow by 52% from 2023/24 to £32.8bn by 2027/28.
The number of monthly new claimants in England and Wales, where the main condition was anxiety and depression, has soared from an average of 2,200 a month in 2019 to 5,300 a month last year.
And the government says the rise to the benefits bill is “unsustainable”.
In Scotland, PIP is being replaced with Adult Disability Payment, external.
Paul Harris, from Barnard Castle, gets £72.65 a week in PIP payments to help with extra costs associated with his anxiety and depression – such as for specialist therapy apps and counselling.
