On 18th March 2025, the ‘Pathways to Work’ Green Paper was published, which aimed at reducing financial support for disabled people by 5 billion pounds. For the next four months disabled people and support organisations were in shock, disbelief and opposition.

On 1st and the 10th July, parliament decided on the ‘Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill’, which is now only the ‘Universal Credit Bill’. A sigh of relief went through the country and disabled people and support organisations can be proud of their achievement to fight and prevent the most harmful of the suggested changes.

In the end, the bill passed its third reading by 336 votes to 242 and the following changes are to be made from April 2026:

  • The Universal Credit standard allowance for new and existing claims will rise by 4.5% above inflation by 2029/30.
  • No changes whatsoever are made to the eligibility criteria of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – for now. But this will be looked at again, as the ‘Timms review’ is expected to take place in autumn 2026.
  • The Universal Credit ‘health element’ aka ‘LCWRA element’ will be reduced for new claims made after April 2026: from £97 to £50 per week. Existing claimants will not be affected as well as people who meet the severe conditions criteria and those with a terminal illness.
Claimants of Universal Credit who have a health condition that limits their ability to work, whether they are a carer or not, may want to get a work capability assessment before the amount of the ‘health element’ is reduced in April 2026.

To see whether you may be entitled to this extra element, contact one of our Welfare Benefits Advisers via The Contact Point, or do the online check at https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/take-the-uc-wca-test