Green Paper Related Discussions

This is how I am personally interpreting the latest proposals. Other members may interpret them differently.

To meet the new Severe Conditions Criteria, a condition must be permanent, unchanging and diagnosed by a qualified NHS professional. This diagnosis must also be recorded in your NHS records. The aim is to bring greater consistency and reduce how much individual assessors need to rely on personal judgement in the most serious cases.

For general PIP, LCWRA and LCW decisions, the process will still involve evidence and assessments, so assessor judgement will continue to play a role.

One example you mentioned in your post is around needing prompting to eat. Assessors will consider whether you need help every time you eat. If, for instance, you are sometimes able to eat something like a biscuit on your own, that could be taken as evidence that support is not always required, which might affect your eligibility, as it is not a constant requirement to have assistance.

When it comes to mobility, I really cannot answer. Labour is planning changes, but they have not yet said how mobility will be treated under LCWRA or whether there will be changes to the mobility component of PIP in the revised system planned for November 2026.

I do know the Conservatives had previously suggested removing mobility from LCWRA altogether, arguing that remote work reduces the impact of mobility issues, as people could work from home. Labour has not confirmed their position on this, so until we see the revised criteria or hear more during the debate in Parliament on 1 July, it is hard to say how they will assess people with mobility issues under LCWRA, but I do know Conservatives were of the opinion mobility was not a barrier to work in the age of remote working.

MPs cannot be removed from Parliament just for voting against their party. If an MP votes against the party line (often called rebelling), they may face party discipline, but they still keep their seat and retain their basic salary of £93,904 a year as the elected representative of their constituency.

The most serious action a party can take is removing the party whip. This means the MP is expelled from the parliamentary party and becomes an independent MP. However, they still remain an MP and keep their salary unless they resign or are otherwise disqualified for inappropriate or criminal behaviour.

A three-line whip is a very serious party instruction, but it does not give the party the power to remove someone from Parliament altogether. MPs who break it can lose the party whip and become independents, but they still retain their seat in Parliament, just not as Labour MPs.