Last week, the UK Government announced plans to reform the social security system by making the biggest cuts to disability benefits on record. This could have a significant impact on people with a learning disability, their families and carers across Wales.
Why is the UK Government making these changes?
The UK Government estimates that around 2.8 million people in the UK with a long-term illness are currently not in work, training or education and since the pandemic, the number of working-age people receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has more than doubled. The number of young people (16-24) receiving PIP has also increased.
According to the government, spending on benefits could reach £70 billion a year by 2030 or more than £1 billion a week if it does not make changes.
What are the proposed changes?
- Ending Work Capability Assessments (WCA) by 2028: These assessments decide whether or not someone is fit for work. They are being scrapped because they can be seen as a barrier for people wanting to get into work.
- Replacing WCA with the PIP assessment: Any extra financial support for health conditions will be assessed via a new single assessment based on the PIP assessment, which considers the impact of disability on daily living, not on someone’s capacity to work.
- Stricter PIP criteria: From November 2026, PIP will be targeted at those with more complex needs by requiring a minimum of 4 points in at least 1 daily living activity (for example, managing money, social interaction or managing toilet needs). This means that those currently receiving it for ‘less severe difficulties’ could lose their entitlement, even if they have more than 4 points across a range of daily living activities.
- No reassessments for disabled people or those with lifelong conditions who can never work: This would make the process less stressful for someone whose condition or disability is unlikely to change.
- Universal Credit (UC) health benefit claims frozen: From April 2026, people currently claiming the Universal Credit health benefit will have their payments frozen. For new claimants, this amount will be halved to £50 per week in 2026/2027 and frozen until 2030.
- Delayed health benefits for under 22s: The government is consulting on whether they can delay the health benefit under Universal Credit for young disabled people until they reach 22. This means that if they are claiming Disabled Living Allowance (DLA) until they are 18, there will be a gap of 4 years until they can get the UC health benefit.
- Right to try work without fear of losing benefits: This will be introduced to help disabled people or those with or long-term health condition to find meaningful employment that suits and supports them without the fear of losing their benefits payments for a period of time.
- Providing £1bn employment support for disabled people or those with a health condition who can and want to work: This includes job coaches and ‘New Support Conversations’ to help with goal setting.
What will the changes mean?
- People receiving PIP could lose money in the future: It is estimated that between 800,000 and 1.2 million people could lose their entitlement. This could in turn impact people’s ability to access support for health and care costs, cold weather payments and travel cards.
- Unpaid carers could lose money too: If the PIP criteria changes and people are no longer eligible, it could mean carers of disabled people or those with a long-term health condition could also lose their Carer’s Allowance.
- Disabled people aged 18-22 will not get health benefits: Young people who get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) until they are 18 will not be eligible for the health element of Universal Credit until they are 22.
- Increased poverty: It is estimated that the reforms will push an extra 250,000 people in the UK into poverty, including 50,000 children.
According to Cardiff University’s political economy expert Guto Ifan, “Because of the higher proportion of the working age population receiving PIP in Wales (11%, compared with 7% in England), we would expect the impact of these cuts to be particularly pronounced in Wales.”
Sioned Williams MS and Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Learning Disability also shared her concerns about the impact of the cuts. “We have higher rates of disabled people in Wales than the UK average. The impact of these unprecedented cuts to disability benefits will be devastating.”
What next?
Alongside the proposed cuts, the UK Government released its ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’ and launched a consultation for people to share their views.
The consultation lasts for 12 weeks and ends on Monday 30 June 2025 at 11.59pm.
Accessible versions of the consultation are now available including easy read English (but no Welsh easy read).
Our views
Although there are elements of this announcement that we welcome, including the removal of reassessments for people who will never be able to work, funding for job coaches, and the right to try employment without the fear of losing benefits, we see these changes as yet another attack on disabled people who are already facing huge challenges in their lives.
We know that many people with a learning disability and their families already experience financial hardship due to rising costs so we are extremely concerned that these cuts will push more people into poverty. PIP is not an ‘out of work’ benefit and in fact many disabled people rely on these payments to enable them to work and maintain their independence. We are disappointed that the restrictive and leading questions within the consultation mean people with a learning disability and their families cannot accurately feedback about the financial implications these cuts are likely to have on their daily lives.
The lack of Easy Read information is alarming and means that people with a learning disability and/or autism are being left out of the conversation, unable to voice their concerns. Although the consultation page says that it will be updated with these in ‘due course’, we are concerned that there will not be enough time for those who need accessible documents to share their views.
Zoe Richards, CEO of Learning Disability Wales, responded to the announcements:
“The lack of understanding around benefits and how they support people is perhaps the greatest mistake in these announcements. To share the proposals and not ensure that accessible information is available from the outset is utterly discriminatory. It is an incredibly worrying time for disabled people and their families in Wales. The human cost of these reforms will be tenfold and the pressures that already exist will explode. Disabled people, carers and supporters will carry the weight of these reforms and the poverty gap will continue to increase.”
What can you do?
If you disagree with the planned cuts, you can respond to the consultation above to share your views. You can find out more on the Mencap UK website including an accessible video and a link to write to your MP.
You can also find more ways to take action on the Disability Rights UK website or the Disability Wales website.
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