Upcoming changes to benefits

From the green paper :

Instead, eligibility to the additional UC health element will be based on whether someone is receiving any Daily Living Award in PIP

It's the only benefit I get and if they're on about cutting over £400 and reassessing to make it harder to even qualify, I have no idea what I'm going to do. This is frightening

So for those with pip awards that score more than 4 points in a descriptor under care, will be OK (with no changes to mobility). For new style esa and jsa, not sur either like the idea of the amalgation. I'm on new style esa support group, so I assume I'll loose that

So I think I am in work related activity group, in ESA, and haven't for 20 years, are they saying is will be no more and time limited ?

I will eventually lose LCWRA as I have never qualified for pip as my problem is mental health and a small physical disability. I am 60 years old and suffered three severe mental breakdowns over ten years. Lots of other problems too. How the hell am I going to get a job? And where? I sometimes struggle to get to the shops and back. They simply do not understand how mental health effects your entire life. Because I don't dress like Napoleon and shout at pigeons doesn't mean I'm okay.

So I just put the green paper into an AI and asked it to translate it into everyday english and break down the main points of it.

I hope this is OK to post here but hopefully it'll give a clearer overview as there's a lot of info that's coming out minute by minute.

Obviosuly also this is AI, so please be aware that it might not be 100% perfect. If this goes against any rules, very sorry and will delete. This is what AI summerises the green paper as:

The Main Changes Proposed

1. Scrapping the Work Capability Assessment (WCA)

The government plans to abolish the Work Capability Assessment that currently decides if someone is:

• Fit for work
• Has limited capability for work (LCW)
• Has limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA)

Instead, they'll use the PIP assessment as the single assessment for determining eligibility for both PIP and the health element of Universal Credit.

2. Changes to PIP Eligibility

They plan to add a new requirement for PIP's daily living component: you must score at least 4 points in one single activity (not just add up smaller points across different activities). This will make PIP harder to get for people with multiple lower-level needs.

3. Changes to Universal Credit Rates

Starting April 2026:

• The standard UC allowance will increase by £7 per week for everyone
• For new claims, the health element (currently LCWRA) will be reduced from £97 to £50 per week
• For existing claimants, the health element will be frozen until 2029/30, but they'll get the increased standard allowance

4. More Support Conversations and Engagement

The government wants nearly everyone on health-related benefits to engage in periodic conversations about work, even if they're not required to look for work.

What This Means for People on PIP

1. Some people will lose PIP entitlement - If you currently get PIP daily living component but don't score at least 4 points in any single activity (instead adding up smaller points across activities), you may lose this benefit when reassessed.
2. Single assessment process - You'll only need one assessment (PIP) rather than potentially two (PIP and WCA).
3. You can try work without fear of reassessment - The government will put into law that working won't trigger a reassessment of your benefits.

What This Means for People on UC in the Support Group/LCWRA

1. For existing claimants:
   • Your payment level will be protected, though frozen until 2029/30
   • You'll still get the increased standard allowance
   • People with "severe, life-long conditions with no prospect of improvement" will never need reassessment
2. For new claimants after April 2026:
   • You'll receive a lower health element (£50 instead of £97 per week)
   • However, those with severe, life-long conditions may get an additional premium to protect their income
3. More engagement expected:
   • Most people will be required to have periodic conversations about work
   • There will be exemptions for some people, but these aren't fully defined yet

Other Key Proposals

1. New "Unemployment Insurance" - A higher-rate but time-limited benefit for people who have paid National Insurance contributions.
2. Youth changes - They're considering:
   • Delaying access to the UC health element until age 22
   • Raising the age for moving from DLA for children to PIP from 16 to 18
3. £1 billion more for employment support - For personalized help for disabled people who want to work.
4. Reforming Access to Work - The scheme that helps people with workplace adjustments will be revamped to support more people.

What Happens Next?

This is a Green Paper, which means it's a set of proposals that the government is consulting on. There's a 12-week consultation period where people can give feedback. Not all proposals will necessarily happen, and some may change.

The government plans to publish a White Paper later this year with final proposals before introducing legislation to implement the changes.

Most of these changes wouldn't take effect immediately - many are planned for 2026-2029, with the scrapping of the WCA scheduled for 2028/29.

Absolutely. And I’ve said a few times on here that it’s all just ‘chatter’ at the moment and it would need to go through lots of legislation etc… before anything is implemented. If anything at all.

But from what I’ve heard today, I personally don’t think it’s as bad as we were all fearing.

I know it’ll affect some more than others but it could have been a whole lot worse.

but how will they determine who’s lifelong ? I have invisible conditions if I’m forced to a face to face I have no chance . And getting the pip points to 4 points for a question isn’t easy as they can down grade you . Though it’s good that it will now be recorded. I think this will lead to more appeals as it means , if I’m correct, no matter how many points you get if you lack that 4 you don’t get award . So ppl will have to appeal even with full points if they don’t get a 4

See highlighted in bold below, will these changes come in at award review stage rather than being re-assessed mid award?

Focussing PIP more on those with higher needs

137. PIP will remain an important, non-means tested benefit for disabled people and people with health conditions – regardless of whether they are in or out of work. However, the number of people receiving PIP is rising significantly and is becoming unaffordable. In 2024 to 2025, there were 3 million working-age people in receipt of PIP at a cost of £21.8 billion. By 2029/2030, the working-age PIP caseload is forecast to be 4.2 million people, at a cost of £34.1 billion per year.[footnote 83] The rate of increases in claims and expenditure is not sustainable and has outstripped the growth in disability prevalence.

138. Changes are needed that will control the spend on the welfare bill, while continuing to support those people with higher needs relating to their long-term health condition or disability. As described above, we will introduce a new eligibility requirement to ensure that only those who score a minimum of 4 points in at least one daily living activity will be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. This requirement will need to be met in addition to the existing PIP eligibility criteria.

139. This means that people who have lower needs only in the daily living activities (scoring 3 or less for each activity) will no longer be eligible for the daily living component of PIP. Meanwhile, people with a higher level of functional need in at least one activity – for example, people who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them – will still receive PIP.

140. We will introduce this change through primary legislation. It will apply to new claims and for existing people who claim, future eligibility will be decided at their next award review. This change means that people could lose entitlement to the daily living element of PIP and potentially other entitlements linked to this award.

141. We are mindful of the impact this change could have on people and so want to consider how we can best support those affected. This includes options for transitional protection for those who are no longer eligible for PIP and the entitlements linked to their award. In addition, we also want to consider how to support those with lower needs in a large number of PIP activities, as part of these changes. We are consulting on whether those who lose entitlement need any support and what this support could look like (see consultation question 2).

142. As stated in Annex B, the impact and interactions of any changes to the PIP gateway will need to be fully considered with the Devolved Governments. This will be particularly important in Scotland as PIP is devolved and has been replaced by Adult Disability Payment.