The Universal Credit Bill becomes law. Here are the changes to disability benefits you need to know
On 9 July, MPs voted to pass the Universal Credit Bill (Money Bill), previously known as Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill for the final time. It will now become law.
How are disability benefits going to change?
The Universal Credit bill will make three important changes to disability benefits:
- The Universal Credit standard allowance will increase.
- The health element of Universal Credit will be cut in half and frozen for new claimants from April 2026.
- The rates of Income related ESA will not go up with inflation.
You can read more about what these mean and what Scope are doing to challenge changes to disability benefits on our dedicated webpage: The Universal Credit Bill becomes law. Here are the key changes to disability benefits you need to know about.
How does Scope feel about the bill?
We are pleased to see the Government abandon plans to restrict eligibility for PIP. And we are pleased that plans to cut the health element have been reduced. We welcome Minister Timmsโ review into the PIP assessment as well. This is a chance for the Government to work with disabled people around changes to PIP.
However, the bill brings in disastrous changes to UC health for new claimants from next year. Most new health element claimants will receive half the amount of support that current claimants get. Disabled people already face higher costs for essentials like energy bills. Cutting benefits would push more people into poverty. They do not help disabled people get jobs.
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What is Scope doing to challenge changes to disability benefits?
This bill may have passed its way into law. But Scope are continuing to challenge the Government around its plans for disability benefits.
Last month, we submitted a response to the Governmentโs consultation on other proposed changes to disability benefits. And we will continue to campaign to ย make sure that disability benefits properly support disabled people. And that meaningful employment support is available to disabled people who want to work
We will be working with Minister Timms to make sure the PIP assessment review is properly co-produced. Most importantly, we want to see the review cover the things which matter most to disabled people. This includes the criteria that the claimants are assessed with. And how they are treated during assessments.
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๐How your campaigning made a difference ๐
Thanks to your campaigning, big changes were made to the bill as it made its way through Parliament.
Government dropped plans to restrict eligibility for the daily living part of PIP. And the Government also dropped plans to freeze the health element of Universal Credit for current claimants. This means that it would not have gone up with inflation every year. These plans would have been disastrous for disabled people. And driven many people into poverty.
The Government also committed ยฃ1.3 billion for employment support. This will be invested over the next few years. The Government will invest ยฃ800 million in 2025 / 2026. Then another ยฃ400 million in 2026 / 2027.
And, separately to the bill, Minister Stephen Timms will lead a review of the PIP assessment. This will be co-produced with disabled people. The Minister confirmed that the outcomes of this review will shape changes to PIP.
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@Charlie_Scope Hi, could you perhaps leave a link to the discussion
Disability Benefit Cuts - Take action before July 9th.It becomes a little disjointed otherwise, just my opinion, plus some people have asked questions in that discussion too. Thank you ๐
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@Charlie_Scope Also, do you have any historical data at SCOPE relating to this please -
I read in conjunction with that, a small scale study was to be conducted in some towns/cities. do you know if these were ever done please ? I bring this up because all the way back then the Government at the time were talking about having one merged assessment for PIP and UC, we are back to that position again, past studies, if one was ever conducted would really help at this point. I cant find anything online about this. Thank you Charlie ๐
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Hi @mrsBB the link is here, but the discussion is now closed.
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- The rates of Income related ESA will not go up with inflation.
Who would still be on IR ESA in April next year? Was that meant to CB ESA? Seems a fairly pointless change otherwise.
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If you get migrated over after 2026 keep reading will be classed as exsisting claimants but don't trust what i read do you have any clarity on this
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Like the part lawsuits !!!
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A few of us on here said for ages it would go through as a money bill and was told it definitely wouldnโt ๐คจ
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Good luck to scope working with timms, I hope if he's refusing to listen or the disabled people are being barely included that they say so all over social media. Call me a sceptical sausage but I'm of the opinion that timms has already made his mind up about the review outcomes
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I should imagine they have played out in there minds different scenarios of what will happen when they were in the wilderness so to speak to wake up on a day and be in power with no plan I find hard to believe
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Everything I've seen since the vote indicates the (already-written?) Timms Review will be co-produced with relevant stakeholders. That is massive. Timms was beating his gums about consensus, but co-production is a different beast so far as I understand it.
I'm taking heart that real medical experts, people with real lived experiences, and people with no eye towards a seat in the Lords will bring sense and fairness to this Review.
It's all I can do at the moment, beyond making sure people within my area know the newly-elected Labour MP voted for these changes. That's my current mission, to make sure he is a one-term wonder.
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Most IR ESA claimants should have been migrated to Universal Credit, but there are still people yet to be migrated from Incapacity Benefit to ESA (which was replaced with ESA in 2008), and many still claiming DLA as adults (which was replaced by PIP in 2013). The bill specifically mentions IR ESA in section 5.
I am curious if the change is to encourage people to move across themselves. ๐ค
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You may have something there, @Charlie_Scope!
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Charlie what about people on ESA (CB) support group?
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I voullentatrlly moved over from cbesa with an ir top to UC nearly three years ago now .... I now receive cbesa every two weeks and my UC at the end of the month after deductions
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I'm not entitled to IR UC Danny.
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Then you wouldn't have to move over to UC at all then if my thinking is right ? I moved because the lcwra element was better than the top up so I actually got more .... I thought everyone was entitled to to UC , or is that if you have under 16000
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Have I misread somewhere that the health element of Universal Credit for existing claimants will now also increase in line with inflation or is still being 'frozen'?
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I think it is under 16000.
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