Government Avoids Welfare Reform Bill Defeat After Last Minute PIP Concessions
Following a threatened rebellion by 120 Labour MPs, the changes the Government will now make includes:
- only applying the proposed 4-point rule for Personal Independent Payment (PIP) entitlement to ‘new’ PIP claimants from November 2026.
This means claimants will need to score at least 4 points from a single PIP activity descriptor to qualify for the daily living component of PIP
- Increasing the rate of the universal credit ‘health’ element for those who are already entitled to the element, and for those who meet the ‘severe conditions’ criteria.
It also gave these promises:
- a review of the PIP assessment led by DWP Minister Sir Stephen Timms, and co-produced with Disabled people, will procced any PIP eligibility changes.
- bringing forward the package of promised employment support measures.
However, the dramatic cut to the disability support in universal credit from April 2026 remains in the Bill.
The four-year freeze to the amount paid to both new and existing claimants has been removed, and the cut will only apply to new claimants – with protection in place for terminally ill claimants and those with severe lifelong conditions.
But most new claimants will face the cut. This will be just over £200 a month – a reduction to the disability support of almost half.
While a two-tier PIP system has been avoided, at least for now, we will have a two-tier universal credit system.
Debt and poverty are already a fact of life for existing universal credit claimants, with many unable to afford essentials. Factor in the high additional cost of disability, the cut will make a grave situation much, much worse.
The Bill is due for its “committee stage” third reading on 9th July.
It is vital that MPs again rebel so that the health element cut for new claimants is removed.
As Ellen Clifford from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) said:
“This isn’t a U-turn. It’s more smoke and mirrors. They might have bought votes with promises of co-producing the PIP review but how can we trust a government like this?”
“Let’s not forget that the huge universal credit cut for new claimants remained in the bill unchanged,” adding “It makes a mockery of any claims to be protecting vulnerable people.”
The Government has always stressed that the impetus for welfare reform was to cut the disability benefit bill by 5 billion pounds (although other analysis finds the figure will total 7 billion pounds).
It has not said that it has given up on this aim.
The terms of reference to the Timms PIP assessment review refer still to the need to” ensure the sustainability” of the PIP “safety net”.
We have concerns that the review itself, made up of Disabeld Peoples Organisations (DPOs), and likely disability charities, in addition to “experts” and clinicians, will not be truly “co-produced”.
It is not even confirmed that MPs will still have a vote on any legal changes to the PIP assessment.
DR UK’s Policy Officer Mikey Erhardt said: “Disabled citizens across the country will today be enormously relieved that following major protests by Disabled people and significant rebellions from Labour MPs, cuts to Personal Independent Payments for existing and new claimants will not go ahead.
“However, serious concerns remain relating to the Government’s intention to press ahead with cuts to the health top-up of Universal Credit for people newly disabled after April 2026.
“The Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit Bill still proposes making hundreds of thousands of Disabled people receiving Universal Credit poorer. Disabled people on Universal Credit are some of the poorest people in the country, even on current rates of payment, yet the Government intends to reduce the payment by £47 per week for new claimants.
“We’ve known all along that the public, Disabled people and our organisations have found this Bill to be unjust and unfair. Yet the government has used every tool in its arsenal, every procedural trick to push this dangerous bill through. Despite a majority of the public wanting the government to look elsewhere for savings than the disability benefits system, MPs still voted through cuts that will affect an estimated 700,000 people. Yet as the dust settles today, can we even be sure MPs know what they’ve voted for?
“Make no mistake: this floundering and chaos from the Government is a direct result of the steadfast work of Disabled campaigners and our allies, who have made it clear that this bill is unworkable. Despite attempts to silence us, through our collective campaigning, we made them drop billions of pounds worth of cuts, and we will continue to resist this disastrous bill.”
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