Latest news on PIP/UC changes
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PIP/UC News Archive
Using the links above you can find out more about the proposed changes to PIP and what you can do to challenge them. You can also take the proposed new PIP test online.
We'll also keep you up-to-date with all the news about the changes.
Latest News On PIP and UC Changes
We aim to share the most important PIP and UC changes news stories below. But please add any news or research that you find, in the comments section below.
1 April
27 Labour MPs now say they will vote against the Green Paper cuts
The Labour List website has updated its list of Labour MPs who have openly said they will vote against the Pathways to Work Green Paper cuts. There are now 27 MPs who say they will do so, up from 12 just a few days ago.
Only 2.5% of private rentals in England affordable on housing benefit, study finds
The Guardian reports that only 2.5% of private rented homes in England were affordable for people on housing benefit last year, with charities warning that more people will be pushed into rent arrears and homelessness as a freeze on the benefit takes effect. Claimants who rely on PIP or health premiums in UC to meet rent shortfalls will be threatened with homelessness if the Green Paper cuts go through.
The true scale and impact of benefit cuts for ill and disabled people
The New Economics Foundation reports that the cuts will hit ill and disabled people by almost £2bn more than what has been widely reported.
DWP condemned by statistics watchdog for "entirely misleading" WCA figures
The DWP is being forced to withdraw “entirely misleading” statistics about the number of people found incapable of work from a press release, launched as part of the softening-up process prior to the Pathways To Work Green Paper release.
31 March
Labour MP launches petition against Green Paper benefits cuts
A sitting Labour MP – though possibly not for much longer - has launched a petition against his own party’s benefits cuts.
Half of job centres reducing support over shortages
The BBC reports that more than half of job centres are reducing support for people claiming universal credit due to a shortage of work coaches, according to a report from the public spending watchdog.
30 March
MPs to vote on disability benefit cuts without knowing ‘full impact’
The Guardian reports that MPs are set to vote on Labour’s disability benefit cuts without any idea of how many of those affected will be able to find work, after it emerged that Britain’s economic watchdog may not publish its forecast of the employment impact of the plans until the end of October.
28 March
Welfare reform: List of Labour MPs prepared to rebel against benefit changes
Labour List reports that, so far, more than a dozen Labour MPs have said publicly that they will not back the government when proposed welfare reforms are voted on in Parliament.
No evidence Labour welfare cuts will get more people into work, OBR says
The Independent reports that the spending watchdog’s says it was not provided with an analysis of how the reforms could boost employment.
DPAC says ‘this is just the start’, after protest over ‘vile and cruel’ benefit cuts outside Downing Street
The Disability News Service reports that disabled people have spoken of their anger, frustration and fear – and sense of betrayal by the Labour government – over plans to cut billions of pounds from disability benefits, as they protested outside Downing Street yesterday (Wednesday). Estimates suggest more than 1,000 disabled people and allies chanted outside the Downing Street gates or listened to speeches across the road, on the other side of Whitehall.
27 March
How health-related benefit cuts add up
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has provided new analysis that shows the level of proposed cuts for some example families, and how multiple cuts interact with one other. One couple would lose almost £12,000 a year.
Disability benefit cuts will cause widespread hardship, no questions asked
Craig Berry, Principal Policy Manager (Families, Work and Welfare) at Citizens Advice, takes a first look at the Pathways to Work green paper, finding that — despite large income losses for many disabled people — the government is forcing through most of the key changes without consultation.
Record 4.5m children in poverty in UK as cuts condemned as ‘morally repugnant’
The Guardian reports that Campaigners have said it is “morally repugnant” that vulnerable people are bearing the brunt of spending cuts after official figures showed a record 4.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK.
26 March
Quarter of a million into poverty, 370,000 to lose PIP daily living
Benefits and Work reports that the savagery of Labour’s cuts to benefits was laid bare today, with the revelation that 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, will be plunged into relative poverty as a result of benefits cuts. 370,000 current PIP claimants are expected to lose their PIP daily living component when their award is reviewed after November 2026.
Benefit cuts will lead to more deaths, experts say
The British Medical Journal, has published an article by four public health experts saying the sickness and disability benefit cuts announced last week – the single biggest cut in today’s spring statement package – could lead to deaths.
25 March
Government plans more benefit cuts as OBR downgrades welfare savings
ITV News is reporting that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has not accepted that Green Paper benefits changes will save £5 billion and has put the figure at £3.4 billion, leaving the DWP looking for further cuts to try to make up the difference. The OBR is reported to believe that more people than the DWP think will pass the tougher PIP test.
24 March
NAWRA calls for Green Paper to be reissued with all proposals open for consultation
The National Association for Welfare Rights Workers (NAWRA) has written to the secretary of state arguing that failing to consult on all the proposals is outside the established practice of consultation and shows a complete disregard for the government’s commitment to ‘putting the views and voices of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of everything we do’.
‘I can’t sleep, I’m so scared’: disabled people face benefit cuts domino effect
The Guardian reports on the way that the loss of PIP can lead to the loss of other support, including free prescriptions, council tax reduction as well as unpaid carers losing their carer’s allowance.
22 March
Labour risks PIP cuts vote in order to breach claimants’ human rights
Benefits and Work reports that Labour is prepared to risk a backbench revolt by allowing a vote on cuts to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), in order to be sure it can breach claimants’ human rights without worrying about legal repercussions,
Councils and NHS could face millions in extra costs due to disability benefit cut
The Guardian reports that the government’s plans to cut at least £5bn from disability benefits could end up driving more costs on to cash-strapped councils, according to campaigners and local government officials.
21 March
‘Stain on this country’: celebrities condemn cuts to UK disability benefits
An array of high-profile celebrities including Sir Stephen Fry, Brian Cox and Stanley Tucci have criticised the government’s £5bn cuts to disability benefits, calling the plans “shameful” and “a stain on this country”.
Fightback begins over £5 billion disability benefits cuts
Disabled people are fighting back against government plans that will see more than £5 billion cut from spending on disability benefits, with a rally taking place in central London on 26 March.
DWP figures on total cost of disabled people who cannot work are ‘chilling’ echo of ‘useless eaters’ propaganda
The Disability News Service reports that the decision of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to publish figures showing the total cost to the economy of disabled people who cannot work has been described as a “chilling” echo of the “useless eaters” propaganda of 1930s Germany.
20 March
Some disabled people could lose £10k a year in benefits by end of decade
The Guardian reports that some disabled people could lose nearly £10,000 a year in benefits by the end of the decade under Labour’s controversial disability benefits reforms.
