UK: Disability benefits (UC, ESA and PIP) - news and updates 2024 and 2025

[Kitty]

Politically, the stakes are very high.

Quite rightly, too. People shouldn't be surprised to find themselves in hot water if they come up with policies as bad as this.

 

[Lou B Lou]

Now Starmer et al are touting 'concessions' to the Bill to pacify the rebel MPs.
But that will be a trick. One suggestion is changing the 4 Points in one Activity of Daily Living PIP requirement to a 3 Points in one Activity of Daily Living PIP requirement.

That is the trick. Because only 1 of all of the Activities of Daily Living (need help getting in/out of the bath) has a 3 point possibility in the assessment. The rest of the Activities of Daily Living go from 2 points straight to 4 Points. So changing to a 3 Point requirement will exclude pretty much as many people.

Sorry if that sounds garbled.

 

[MrMagoo]

Now Starmer et al are touting 'concessions' to the Bill to pacify the rebel MPs.
But that will be a trick. One suggestion is changing the 4 Points in one Activity of Daily Living PIP requirement to a 3 Points in one Activity of Daily Living PIP requirement.

That is the trick. Because only 1 of all of the Activities of Daily Living (need help getting in/out of the bath) has a 3 point possibility in the assessment. The rest of the Activities of Daily Living go from 2 points straight to 4 Points. So changing to a 3 Point requirement will exclude pretty much as many people.

Sorry if that sounds garbled.

No, it’s a good point.
How about they stop messing about with points, and accept they want disabled people to suffer.

 

[MrMagoo]

Massive climb down apparently agreed with rebels.
Current claimants will keep all their benefits, changes will be for new claimants

Keir Starmer climbs down on welfare bill after Labour MP backlash

Cuts to some disability benefits will only hit future claimants, not those already on it.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Kitty]

Current claimants will keep all their benefits, changes will be for new claimants

So a two-tier system, where the amount of help you receive could depend on what year you were unfortunate enough to acquire your illness or disability?

 

[alktipping]

Massive climb down apparently agreed with rebels.
Current claimants will keep all their benefits, changes will be for new claimants

Keir Starmer climbs down on welfare bill after Labour MP backlash

Cuts to some disability benefits will only hit future claimants, not those already on it.

www.bbc.co.uk

From what i have seen it is not just new claimants it is for every review .

 

[Trish]

If the MP's accept that so called climb down I'm disgusted. Why should someone who needs PIP tomorrow be less worth supporting than someone who was awarded it today?

 

[Kiristar]

From what i have seen it is not just new claimants it is for every review .

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/27/no-10-climb-down-over-welfare-bill-move-win-rebels

I'm confused now. The guardian does say it's new claimants only but also that a "fundamental review" of Pip is being brought forward which the BBC omits.

The compromises "include exempting everyone currently receiving disability benefits from the changes and increasing the health element of universal credit in line with inflation.

Kendall said she would bring forward a more fundamental review into the personal independence payment (Pip) system and increase the amount of money to be spent on back-to-work schemes."

 

[Kitty]

I'm confused now. The guardian does say it's new claimants only but also that a "fundamental review" of Pip is being brought forward which the BBC omits.

Makes you wonder if the government's making it up as it goes along, doesn't it.

 

[Peter T]

Kendall said she would bring forward a more fundamental review into the personal independence payment (Pip) system and increase the amount of money to be spent on back-to-work schemes."

I remember a UK back to work scheme in place in the early 2000s. For a number of sessions I was obliged to explore the options to get me job ready with an advisor of some sort. I gave her details of what I need to do to reactivate my professional qualification, but she agreed I was not well enough to achieve that; I visited the county volunteer coordinator who gave me an overview of the type of volunteer opportunities in my area that could be used to get on a back to work track, but the advisor agreed I was not well enough to do any of them; there may have been other options explored but eventually the benefits agent agreed that getting back to work was not a likely prospect for me. This process triggered a down turn in my health.

If I remember correctly, this scheme met with little success and was eventually dropped.

 

[Kitty]

From what i have seen it is not just new claimants it is for every review .

I guess it'll depend on what the eventual law says. If it is "new claims", it would only affect current claimants if they had a break in their claim.

But that might mean the impact on UC is quite significant. Most claimants with long term disabilities are likely to stay on PIP, but some of the same people might come on and off UC—for instance if they're able to work but it's hard to find jobs they can do, or they try work but find they can't manage.

If they have a break in their UC claim and don't have a four-point PIP award, might they no longer qualify for the UC disability elements?

If so, it's an immediate disincentive to look for a job or try working. Especially as it takes a huge amount of effort to find employment even when you're not disabled, and it's 20 times harder if you are.

 

[Trish]

Makes you wonder if the government's making it up as it goes along, doesn't it.

Nah, no need to wonder if... It's absolutely clear they are making it up as they go along and haven't a clue what PIP is for.

I saw a good interview yesterday with a Lib Dem who made it very clear she understood PIP is not an out of work benefit, and taking it away is likely to mean some people losing their jobs as they need PIP funded care to get to work. Then there was an interview with Stephen Timms the minister in charge and he didn't seem to have a clue.

 

[Sasha]

I guess it'll depend on what the eventual law says. If it is "new claims", it would only affect current claimants if they had a break in their claim.

It's possible to be highly disabled and to get chucked off PIP at review - this happened to me. So even people who've been consistently disabled and on it for years might be affected.

 

[Sasha]

Massive climb down apparently agreed with rebels.
Current claimants will keep all their benefits, changes will be for new claimants

Which is appalling. Why are new claimants less worthy than the rest of us?

 

[Simbindi]

Nah, no need to wonder if... It's absolutely clear they are making it up as they go along and haven't a clue what PIP is for.

It's not just they don't understand it's not an out of work benefit, even 'left-wing' journalists are promoting the misconception it's just for things such as aids and adaptations (something started by the Conservatives and their proposed voucher scheme), rather than money to promote independence and give disabled people a chance to have a comparable quality of life to the non-disabled (which can include heating, energy costs, quality food, maintaining a safe suitable home, maintaining social relationships and access to hobbies, as well as obviously paying for care, therapy and medical treatment not covered by the NHS or social care).

Welfare bill: what compromises have been made and how will claimants be affected?

More than 120 Labour MPs were planning to defeat the bill by voting against it before last-minute concessions

www.theguardian.com

At the heart of the government’s plans were changes to Pips – the regular payments designed to help disabled people have a good quality of life. The money is supposed to be used for practical items such as stairlifts or wheelchairs, but the amount being claimed has ballooned in recent years and is forecast to continue rising rapidly. [bolding mine]

So with the bringing forward of Timms' review of PIP, I am expecting more of this kind of gaslighting from the media.

 

[Lou B Lou]

'

'Minister Stephen Timms has finally admitted that spending on working-age benefits is stable, and is not spiraling out of control, despite months of claims from his own department and fellow ministers.'


https://www.disabilitynewsservice.c...s-stable-despite-months-of-spiralling-claims/

 

[MrMagoo]

I remember a UK back to work scheme in place in the early 2000s. For a number of sessions I was obliged to explore the options to get me job ready with an advisor of some sort. I gave her details of what I need to do to reactivate my professional qualification, but she agreed I was not well enough to achieve that; I visited the county volunteer coordinator who gave me an overview of the type of volunteer opportunities in my area that could be used to get on a back to work track, but the advisor agreed I was not well enough to do any of them; there may have been other options explored but eventually the benefits agent agreed that getting back to work was not a likely prospect for me. This process triggered a down turn in my health.

If I remember correctly, this scheme met with little success and was eventually dropped.

Whilst I waited a year for my WCA they put me on the general “help you to get into work” scheme. The advisor was lovely and totally understood I couldn’t do anything. She eventually told me she had a big set-to with her manager about me being on her caseload, because it was clear she couldn’t do anything with me and I’d be a black mark against her name. Pointless busywork.

This change is a welcome relief but make no mistake, we will have to continue to fight to protect benefits for disabled people.

 

[Kitty]

It's possible to be highly disabled and to get chucked off PIP at review

Yes if you didn't appeal, or weren't able to, you'd be affected if you had to start a new claim later.

I was once denied the mobility component of DLA despite being a wheelchair user. A working-full-time wheelchair user who'd been in continuous employment since my mid-teens, so there wasn't even a scrounger argument.

I asked for a review of the decision and they reinstated it within a fortnight of my letter. I don't know whether it was a case of trying it on or just incompetence.

 

[Kitty]

This change is a welcome relief

I'm struggling to see it like that. If this goes ahead, someone is sure to come along whose ME/CFS is every bit as much of an impairment as mine, yet they get little or no help with daily living costs while I get the full rate.

I got the maximum rate of ESA for 10 years without ever being assessed, and they may face regular assessment on UC yet get substantially less.

That's not social justice.

 

[Kitty]

If they have a break in their UC claim and don't have a four-point PIP award, might they no longer qualify for the UC disability elements?

Having thought more about this, I reckon I'm wrong. It's not logical because it's the PIP entitlement that matters.

So if someone has an ongoing entitlement to PIP daily living under the old rules, those same rules should be applied even if they have to start a new UC claim. They still shouldn't need four points to qualify for disability enhancements / LCWRA.