DEEP concerns have been raised about the UK Government's new disability benefit, the Personal Independence Payment, which is being introduced today across Scotland, England and Wales.

PIP, which was trialled in the north of England in April, replaces Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for working-age claimants.

Ministers insist the new benefit is designed to support disabled people to live independent lives and includes a new face-to-face assessment and regular reviews. But they also hope the change will save £2 billion a year.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, the former paralympian who is a member of Westminster's all-party group on disability, is worried about the changes. "Huge numbers of disabled will not be getting the support they need. The current benefit, the DLA, is a benefit which the disabled person can choose how they spend.

"Without that small amount of support that goes to each individual, my real fear is that disabled people will be ghettoised," she said.

Mark Lever, chief executive of the National Autistic Society, said: "It smacks of a cost-saving exercise when it should be a genuine drive to make the system fairer and deliver support to everyone who needs it."

But Esther McVey, Minister for Disabled People, said: "The Personal Independence Payment has been designed to better reflect today's understanding of disability."