"Key changes to benefits in welfare shake-up"

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The government has announced plans for major changes to the benefits system aimed at cutting the growing amount the UK spends on welfare



Pip is paid to people in England and Wales who have difficulty completing everyday tasks or getting around as a result of a long-term physical or mental health condition.

It is not means tested and is available to people who are working.

The payments will go up in line with inflation this year.

But the eligibility criteria will be tightened up from November 2026, potentially resulting in reduced payments for many.

It will become harder to qualify for the daily living component of Pip, which starts at £72.65 a week.

There will also be a review of the Pip assessment process.

If there is a cut in the budget for Pip, a proportionate figure will be cut from the amount the Treasury gives to the Scottish government.

So Scottish ministers would have the choice of applying a similar scale of cuts, or of finding funds from other spending, or tax, to fill that gap.

The government wants more frequent reassessments for many people claiming Pip.

But those with the most severe, long-term conditions will no longer face any reassessments, under the proposed reforms.

The work capability assessment that determines who is eligible for incapacity benefits will be scrapped in 2028, under the proposals.

Instead, people applying for health-related financial support and disability benefits will only face one assessment, based on the current Pip system.

Incapacity benefits under universal credit will be frozen in cash terms for existing claimants from April next year - this means they will not be increased in line with inflation.

The amount will be reduced for new claimants.

But Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said there will be "an additional premium for people with severe lifelong conditions that mean they will never work to give them the financial security they deserve".

"Alongside this we will bring in a permanent above inflation rise to the standard allowance in universal credit for the first time ever; a £775 annual increase in cash terms by 2029/30 and a decisive step to tackle the perverse incentives in the system," she added.

Those aged under 22 will no longer be able to claim the incapacity benefit top-up to universal credit under these proposals.

The government says any savings generated from the delay would be reinvested into work support and training opportunities for this age group.

Ministers are also consulting on raising the age at which young people move from Disability Living Allowance for children to Pip from 16 to 18.

The idea is that young people will have work and training "rather than a pathway to economic inactivity", the DWP says.

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DWP launches entirely bogus Green Paper consultation

The DWP has launched an entirely bogus consultation on changes to personal independence payment (PIP) and universal credit (UC) by refusing to consult on almost everything that matters most to claimants.

The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper sets out proposed changes to PIP, including preventing anyone who does not score at least one 4 point or more descriptor from being eligible for the daily living component.

It also proposes to freeze the LCWRA (health) element of UC and abolish the WCA.

Yet the list of things that the DWP is refusing to consult on, meaning there are no questions about them in the online consultation, includes:

• Scrapping the WCA
  
• Creating a single assessment for PIP and the UC health element
  
• Freezing the health element of UC until 2029/30
  
• Only awarding PIP daily living if you get at least one descriptor scoring 4 or more points
  
• Restarting WCA reassessments until the WCA is scrapped

(You can find a full list of the issues the DWP will and won’t be consulting on at Annex A of the Green Paper).

Instead of asking for feedback on these vital issues, the consultation asks questions that make the assumption that participants accept that people should lose their PIP:

2. What support do you think we could provide for those who will lose their Personal Independence Payment entitlement as a result of a new additional requirement to score at least 4 points on one daily living activity?

3. How could we improve the experience of the health and care system for people who are claiming Personal Independence Payment who would lose entitlement?

Vital information that would allow people to have an informed opinion even on questions like those above has been deliberately withheld from the Green Paper.

For example, the DWP knows precisely, or could make a very accurate estimate of, how many current claimants would lose their award on review if their condition remains unchanged and the new system is introduced.

It also knows what condition those claimants have: how many have physical conditions like arthritis, mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, neurodevelopmental issues like ASD or ADHD.

The DWP knows, but it’s not telling us.

Yet how can you properly answer questions like the ones above if you don’t know who is most likely to be affected?

Benefits and Work has made a Freedom of Information request for these figures, but we suspect they will not be forthcoming.

The information may be included in the impact assessment due to be published on 26th March.

Otherwise, perhaps readers could ask their MPs or a friendly member of the House of Lords to ask for them?

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Labour's welfare crackdown will also have an impact on 'passported benefits', including carer's allowance and the Disabled Persons Railcard



The government’s plans for disability benefit cuts which will impact around one million people will have sharp knock-on effects, including for unpaid carers.

Liz Kendall’s plans mean that in future, it will be harder for people to qualify for the ‘daily living’ element of the personal independence payment (PIP) benefit.

The Resolution Foundation think tank estimates that between 800,000 and 1.2 million people will miss out on PIP by 2029/30, including existing claimants who lose out when they are reassessed.

This will also impact people who could lose their ‘passported benefits’. These are entitlements that flow from receiving a particular benefit – in this case, PIP.

Prime among these is carer’s allowance, which is paid to unpaid carers who look after disabled people. Carer’s allowance is only paid to people who look after someone in receipt of disability benefit – and the main working-age disability benefit in England and Wales that qualifies for carer’s allowance is PIP.

The welfare reform green paper published yesterday (18 March) says the government will consult on possible “transitional protection” for those who lose their eligibility for PIP and the entitlements linked to their award, but even if this is adopted, “transitional” protection would by definition only be temporary.

Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said: “We are very concerned that the plans the government has published could hit unpaid carers, disabled people and their families very hard, if implemented in full.

“While we agree the current system is unfit for purpose and a greater focus on prevention, early intervention and personalised support are much needed, the financial impact of tightening eligibility to essential disability benefits could severely impact on individuals and families who are already struggling financially.”

Walker said 1.2 million unpaid carers in the UK are living in poverty, with 400,000 in deep poverty.

“Raising the qualifying threshold for support could mean even more carers will struggle to afford essentials like food and heating,” she added. “Future changes to PIP are likely to affect carers’ entitlement to carer’s allowance – over half of carer’s allowance awards are tied to PIP.

“Many carers have disabilities or long-term health conditions and caring is a risk factor in having to give up work. 28% of carers are disabled, compared with 18% of non-carers. Around 150,000 unpaid carers also receive both carer’s allowance and PIP, relying on these vital benefits to get by.”

Other passported benefits are also affected. Most PIP claimants won’t lose eligibility from the planned changes, but those whose PIP payments are based – or would be based – entirely on the daily living element, and who do not score at least four points in any one daily living category in their PIP assessment or reassessment, would be hit.

An important impact will be via the benefit cap. This limits the total amount of benefits a working age person can claim, although PIP payments don’t count towards this cap. People are exempt from the cap if they, their partner, or an under-18 child receive PIP, disability living allowance or the highest level of out-of-work disability benefit – which itself is in line for substantial reform – or certain other benefits.

If someone loses their PIP and isn’t exempt from the benefit cap via another route, they could have their benefits cut substantially.

The Disabled Persons Railcard is available to all PIP claimants, though working age disabled people who don’t receive PIP could also qualify for the railcard with evidence of visual impairment, hearing impairment or epilepsy.

The housing benefit disability premium is similarly open to all PIP claimants, but people might also be able to claim if they have been unable to work for at least a year.

People who get passported benefits via the ‘mobility’ award – including the Blue Badge scheme, vehicle tax exemption/reduction, Motability cars, London ULEZ exemption, and those passported benefits available to all PIP claimants – will not be affected.

The Department for Work and Pensions did not respond to a request for comment.

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Reeves squeezes benefits as 2025 growth forecast halved



Benefit cuts announced last week were extended after the OBR said they would not raise as much money as the government had expected.

A rise in the standard rate of universal credit will be £1 a week lower than previously announced, and the health element of universal credit - which reflects a limited capability to work - will be frozen at £97 a week until 2029 for existing claimants.

An extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, will be pushed into relative poverty by the government's changes, according to its own impact assessment.

And an estimated 800,000 people will lose out on personal independent payments (Pips) by 2030.

A further 2.25 million people currently receiving the health top up to universal credit will lose an average of £500 a year as a result of the freeze, and 730,000 future recipients will lose out.

About 3.9 million households not on the health element of universal credit are expected to gain an average of £265 a year from the increase to the standard allowance.

The government insists the most vulnerable will be protected from spending cuts - but some Labour MPs have accused the chancellor of seeking to balance the books on the backs of the poor and are threatening to vote against the changes.

On social media, Labour MP Jon Trickett said: "I will not be voting for cuts to poorest people on welfare benefits. The chancellor has other options.

"Picking on disabled people is not the right thing to do."

Another Labour MP, Brian Leishman, said he was "very disappointed" with the chancellor's statement, saying "I'm not on board with that whatsoever" and confirmed he would not vote in favour.