Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of significantly watering down disability benefits checks coming into effect today, which will allow recipients to go years before follow-up assessments.Personal Independence Payment (Pip) recipients aged 25 and over will receive their cash for four years after an initial assessment - up from the current nine months.After a second review, those relying on Pip will get a further six years without a review of whether they still require the benefit. The changes come into force from today.Pip is intended to help people with everyday tasks and extra living costs if someone has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability. The payment gives between £121.20 and £778.40 every four weeks to more than 3.9million claimants.The Government has warned that without the changes to assessment periods, the welfare system could collapse under a record backlog of mental health cases.The taxpayer bill for mental health-related benefits is soaring - but the changes sparked fury among those warning the UK's welfare system is already too generous.The Conservatives' shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said: 'Reviews are the only way we can check whether an award is still correct.'Fewer reviews mean more people receiving handouts for longer, at greater cost to the taxpayer. People who could work will instead be left on payments for years without anyone asking whether that is right for them or fair to the taxpayer.