Full list of DWP changes to Universal Credit, PIP, long-term sick and other benefits

A number of changes to the welfare system have been revealed to crackdown on benefit fraud, long term sickness, inactivity and spiralling costs. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his government was on a 'moral mission' to reform welfare.

But the major changes he announced in a speech on April 19 have courted criticism and accusations that the proposals are a “full-on assault on disabled people”, reports the DailyRecord. The Prime Minister insists that the current system is letting people down by not being focused enough on the work they might be able to do.

Mr Sunak has stressed that the reform - which includes a change to the Fit Note process, a pledge to 'tighten' the Work Capability Assessment and stopping benefits if someone does not comply - are not driven by cutting costs. During the speech, he also announced a major overhaul for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) including a new consultation set to launch in the coming days specifically looking at changes to the eligibility criteria, assessment process and types of support that can be offered through the disability benefit.

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The proposed consultation on the PIP changes will, according to Mr Sunak, provide a “more objective and rigorous approach” in the benefits system. He suggested greater medical evidence could be required to substantiate a PIP claim, and that some people with mental health conditions may be offered respite care or talking therapies rather than cash transfers.

He said “people with less severe mental health conditions should be expected to engage with the world of work” as he set out the UK Government's new plans. But Scope, a disability equality charity. said the extent of the proposed change to PIP was “unexpected” and feels “like a full-on assault on disabled people” which could leave some “destitute”

In fact, Scope’s James Taylor said calls were “pouring into our helpline” from concerned disabled people. "In a cost of living crisis, looking to slash disabled people’s income by hitting PIP is a horrific proposal," he said. "Sanctions and ending claims will only heap more misery on people at the sharp end of our cost of living crisis."

The full list of proposed changes to the welfare system

Review of the Fit Note process

The Prime Minister revealed a review of the Fit Note system will be held to stop people being written off as “not fit for work” by default and instead design a new system where each fit note conversation focuses on what people can do with the right support in place, rather than what they can’t do.

As part of this, the government said it will consider shifting the responsibility for issuing the Fit Note away from primary care to free up valuable time for GPs, while creating a system better tailored to an individual’s health and work needs. A call for evidence has been published seeking responses from a diverse range of perspectives, including those with lived experiences, healthcare professionals and employers, both on how the current process works and how it can better support people with health conditions to start, stay, and succeed in work.

Accelerating legacy benefits move to Universal Credit

The rollout of Universal Credit will be accelerated to move all those left on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) onto the modern IT system.

Removing benefits from the long-term unemployed who do not accept a job

According to figures there are more than 450,000 people who have been unemployed for 6 months and over 250,000 who have been unemployed for 12 months. The UK Government says there is no reason why these people should not be in work when there are currently over 900,000 vacancies.

New legislation will be put forward in the next parliament to change the rules so that anyone who has been on benefits for 12 months and doesn’t comply with conditions set by their Work Coach - including accepting available work - will have their unemployment claim closed and their benefits removed entirely.

Amending Work Capability Assessments

The Prime Minister confirmed that the Work Capability Assessment will be tightened so that people with less severe conditions will be expected to engage with the world of work and supported to do so. He said that under the current Work Capability Assessment, too many people are effectively being written off as unable to work without the chance to access vital support which could help them enter employment.

He explained that the UK Government is committed to removing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) entirely and introducing a new personalised, tailored approach to employment support, with the aim of helping disabled people and people with health conditions reach their full potential.

The planned reforms are expected to reduce the number of people assessed as not needing to prepare for work by 424,000 by 2028/29.

Changes to Administrative Earnings threshold

In his announcement, the Prime Minister also said that rules will change next month so that someone working less than half of a full-time week will have to look for more work. The UK Government has already set out regulations to increase the Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) which determines how much support an individual will receive to find work, based on how much they currently earn and how many hours they work.

Those who earn below the AET, they will be placed in the Intensive Work Search Group and are required to regularly meet with their Work Coach. The threshold will rise from £743 to £892 for individual claimants and £1,189 to £1,437 for couples - or the equivalent of 18 hours at National Living Wage a week for an individual from May.

The UK Government said that through these changes, over 180,000 Universal Credit claimants will be moved into the Intensive Work Search group, from the Light Touch group. The change means that 400,000 more claimants will have more intensive support from Work Coaches. Claimant commitments will be tailored to personal circumstances and will take into account caring responsibilities as well as any health conditions.

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