Reforms to the Disability Benefits System

Thank you for contacting me about the upcoming reforms to the disability benefits system.

After 14 years of damaging Conservative rhetoric on benefits and cuts, people are understandably fearful when they hear about changes to the benefits system. I want to let you know that the reforms announced by the government will not result in any immediate changes to anyone’s benefits. We need a welfare state that is there for all of us when we need it, now and in the future, that protects those most in need, and that delivers equality and dignity for all. There will always be some people who cannot work, and I assure you that we will protect them. However, the broken welfare system we inherited from the Conservatives is failing the very people it was designed to help and holding our country back. Many sick and disabled people want to work, and they deserve the same choices and chances as everyone else to do so. Instead, the Conservatives wrote off hundreds of thousands of people and blamed them for an unsustainable rising benefits bill. Instead of providing people the support they needed to get into work, they prioritised cheap headlines.

The Government is already tackling the drivers of people being out of work and supporting people into good jobs. We’re investing an additional £26 billion in the NHS to drive down waiting lists, making work pay with our landmark Employment Rights Bill, and introducing the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation, with our £240 million Get Britain Working Plan.  The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has announced that we’re going even further, investing £1 billion into employment support. This is one of the largest ever investments in support to increase opportunities to work for sick and disabled people, guaranteeing high quality, tailored support to get people on a Pathway to Work. This will come alongside a package of reform to support people into jobs and make the broken system fairer and more sustainable. I’d like to highlight a few of these measures that will make a significant difference to our country and people’s life chances.

First, we are addressing the perverse financial incentives that hold people back from work under the current system by rebalancing the payments in Universal Credit. This means that we are increasing the standard allowance above inflation for the first time ever, with a £775 cash increase per year by 2029/30 for existing and new claimants, while reducing the health top up for new claims from April 2026, alongside active support to help people back to health and work.

Alongside this, we will remove barriers by ensuring that going back to work in and of itself will never lead to a reassessment. This ‘right to try’ will give people the confidence to take on job knowing that if it doesn’t work out, they won’t have to start from scratch. In addition, we are consulting on a new unemployment insurance that will help people quickly get back on track if they fall out of work, giving them a higher rate of benefit. It’s also important to point out the measures we have announced to protect those who are most in need. We will protect existing Universal Credit claimants by holding their health top-up steady in cash terms while they benefit from the higher standard allowance. We are also looking at ways to ensure that those who will never be able to work are afforded confidence and dignity by never having to go through reassessments and proposing an additional Universal Credit premium to offer those people the support they need.

I am setting out some responses to possible questions you may have:

1.  Will I still get my payments as normal? Yes, please be assured there will be no immediate changes to your health and disability related benefit payment. For more information about the proposed changes to health and disability benefits please visit www.gov.uk and search for DWP green paper.

2. Will my claim be affected? No, there will be no immediate changes to your health and disability-related claim. If you have made a claim or are getting a health and disability-related benefit you should continue to contact us as usual and provide any information or changes to your circumstances and current needs. For more information about the proposed changes to health and disability benefits please visit www.gov.uk and search for DWP green paper.

3. When will the changes to health and disability benefits be made? We are consulting on our proposed changes to health and disability benefits. The consultation will be open for at least 12 weeks and no changes will be made until we have reviewed all the responses. You are welcome to take part in the consultation at www.gov.uk. Search for DWP green paper. For more information about the proposed changes to health and disability benefits please visit www.gov.uk and search for DWP green paper.

4. Will my benefits change immediately? No, please be assured there will be no immediate changes to your health and disability related benefit payment. For more information about the proposed changes to health and disability benefits please see Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper

5. I’ve submitted a claim but haven’t heard the outcome, will my claim be affected? No, there will be no immediate changes to your health and disability related claim. If you have made a claim or are getting a health and disability related benefit you should continue to contact us as usual and provide any information or changes to your circumstances and current needs. For more information about the proposed changes to health and disability benefits please see Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper

6. When will the changes to health and disability benefits be made? We are consulting on our proposed changes to health and disability benefits. The consultation will be open for at least 12 weeks and no changes will be made until we have reviewed all the responses. You are welcome to take part in the consultation.

I hope that I have helped to answer your questions and provided reassurance.