Disability benefits reforms

[Last updated 11/04/25]

The reforms to the disability benefits system start from the position that people who have disabilities, or who can’t work for the rest of their lives, should be supported. 
 
Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were designed to support people with disabilities to live more independent lives. But the system has broken - with over 1,000 people qualifying for the payments each day, even though 1,000 people a day are not being diagnosed with a disability. 
 
We think that one of the reasons for this is that the rate of Universal Credit (UC) has not been increased for some time, and as the cost of living has recently been high, more people have bid for PIP to understandably receive higher payments. 
 
That’s why, alongside changes to make sure that PIP is available to support people with the most significant disabilities, we have decided to increase the rate of UC from £96 per week to £106 per week from April 2026. 
 
Changes to the PIP system will not come into effect for new claims and award reviews until November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. And people who clearly have lifelong disabilities will no longer be required to keep having clinical reviews to prove that point, instead being guaranteed PIP support for life. 
 
The data also shows that one in eight young people are coming out of school and getting stuck on benefits. The longer this is the case, the harder it is for that young person to get a job because of the lack of work experience or training. 
 
That’s why the Chancellor also announced in the Spring Statement a record £1 billion investment in tailored employment support, to ensure those who want to work are properly supported to do so. This is one of the largest ever investments in support to increase opportunities to work. 
 
Crucially, the ‘Right to Try’ guarantee will ensure going back to work itself will never lead to a reassessment, giving people the confidence to take on new opportunities. The broken Work Capability Assessment (WCA) will be scrapped, simplifying the process for attaining health-related benefits in one single assessment and ending the binary categories of ‘can’ and ‘cannot work’, helping people who can work to access support.
 
Importantly, it’s worth noting that this government is increasing spending on welfare support. The unsustainable rate of growth is being mitigated, in the ways set out above, but more money is going into the system than before. 
 
The Government’s plans were developed through engagement with disabled people, and a public consultation has been launched to guide the reforms going forward. I urge any disabled person or representative organisation to contribute their views to this.

You can access the consultation here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper