Up to 1.2m people could lose between £4k and £6k per year by 2029 from Pip changes, Resolution Foundation says
The Resolution Foundation has also put out a statement about the benefit cuts. It says the changes to the rules for Pip (the personal independent payment) could cost up to 1.2 million people between £4,200 and £6,300. It says:
The main savings are to be achieved through restricting entitlement to Pip – a benefit that is paid regardless of whether someone is in work, to compensate for the additional costs of being disabled.
The foundation says that if the government plans to save £5 billion from restricting Pip by making it harder to qualify for the ‘daily living’ component, this would mean between 800,000 and 1.2 million people losing support of between £4,200 and £6,300 per year by 2029-30.
With seven-in-ten Pip claimants living in families in the poorest half of the income distribution, these losses will be heavily concentrated among lower-income households. This looks like a short-term ‘scored’ savings exercise, rather than a long-term reform, says the foundation, given that ministers have also said they will look again at how Pip is assessed in the future.
The foundation also says up to four million families will benefit from general universal credit becoming a bit more generous- but only by around £3 per week.
Louise Murphy, a senior economist at the foundation, said:
Around one million people are potentially at risk of losing support from tighter restrictions on PIP, while young people and those who fall ill in the future will lose support from a huge scaling back of incapacity benefits.
The irony of this health and disability green paper is that the main beneficiaries are those without health problems or a disability. And while it includes some sensible reforms, too many of the proposals have been driven by the need for short-term savings to meet fiscal rules, rather than long-term reform. The result risks being a major income shock for millions of low-income households.
Key events
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Early evening summary
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Charity says it is worried impact disability benefit cuts could have on carers
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Britons, including Tory supporters, back net zero by 2050 policy, poll suggests, as Badenoch says it’s impossible
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Up to 1.2m people could lose between £4k and £6k per year by 2029 from Pip changes, Resolution Foundation says
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Around 600,000 people now getting UC sickness top-up could lose £2,400 a year from 2028-29 under reforms, IFS says
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Government launches consultation on ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting
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Oxfam says No 10’s decision to disown Lammy’s comment about Israel breaking international law in Gaza ‘appalling’
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TUC urges government to ‘reconsider’ scale of proposed disability benefit cuts
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Disability benefit cuts ‘will send even more families to food banks’, says Citizens Advice
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Kendall faces repeated calls from Labour MPs for rethink over plans to cut disability benefits
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Opposition parties say Labour cutting benefits is part of Tory-style austerity
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Disability charities urge government to abandon ‘immoral and devastating’ benefit cuts
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Tory DWP spokesperson Helen Whately says £5bn cuts do not go far enough
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DWP publishes Pathways to Work green paper
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Kendall says under-22s could be prevented from claiming health top-up for universal credit
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Kendall confirms benefit changes to save more than £5bn by 2029-30
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Kendall confirms Pip eligibility rules to be tightened, and assessment process to be reviewed
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Kendall says universal credit claimants with most severe disabilities will not face reassessment
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Kendall says reassessments for people on universal credit with health top-ups to be beefed up
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Kendall says UC payments being rebalanced, with standard rate going up, and some health top-ups frozen or cut
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Kendall says ‘right to try’ will let people on sickness benefits try work without immediately having benefits cut
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Kendall says WCA being scrapped, with Pip assessment process being used instead
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Kendall says government to consult on merging JSA and ESA benefits
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Liz Kendall tells MPs benefits system ‘holding our country back’
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Where support is available for people with mental health and benefit concerns
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Pip caseload up 12% over past year, DWP says
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No 10 says David Lammy was wrong to tell MPs government thinks Israel has broken international law in Gaza
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Farage accuses Badenoch of ‘hypocrisy’ over net zero, saying she could have opposed plans in 2019
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Badenoch says she won’t commit to leaving ECHR without plan to make it work, because that was flaw with Brexit
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Badenoch does not commit to Tories maintaining support for triple lock at next election
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Badenoch denies changing her mind about net zero target
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Badenoch explains three reasons why she’s ‘net zero sceptic’
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Badenoch claims parliament legislated for net zero without plan for how to achieve it
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Badenoch says Britain ‘stagnating or going backwards’, and people wrong to assume prosperity always guaranteed
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Environmentalists say it’s wrong and self-defeating for Badenoch to say net zero can’t be reached by 2050
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McFadden says Labour has ‘duty’ to reform welfare system because it was elected ‘on platform of change’
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McFadden suggests people with most severe disabilities won’t have to get their Pip reassessed
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Pat McFadden defends disability benefit cuts, saying you can’t ‘tax and borrow your way out of need to reform state’
Early evening summary
Ultimately of course these are matters for the courts to determine but it’s difficult to see how denying humanitarian assistance to a civilian population can be compatible with international humanitarian law.
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A review will consider reducing the “volume of assessment” at GCSE following concerns about the pressure that exams can place on pupils in England, PA Media reports. PA says the interim report of the independent curriculum and assessment review has said it will consider whether the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) – a government performance measure for schools in England – remains “effective”. The review said it will ensure the curriculum is “inclusive” so children can see themselves represented in their learning and to help challenge discrimination.
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Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has accused Kemi Badenoch of “hypocrisy” over net zero because she is now saying she is opposed to having 2050 as a net zero target when she did not object when MPs debated the plan in 2019. (See 11.47am.)
We all make mistakes – even the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It has just sent out an email saying it got a figure wrong in its previous release (see 4.28pm). It says there are about 600,000 people who currently get the health element of universal credit (UC) but who do not get Pip (the personal independence payment) who would be worse off by £2,400 a year from 2028-29, not 900,000 people as they originally said. I have corrected the original post.
Charity says it is worried impact disability benefit cuts could have on carers
The Carers Trust says it is worried that people claiming carer’s allowance could lose out because of the cuts announced today. Carer’s allowance, which is worth £81.90 a week, is paid to people who spent at least 35 hours a week voluntarily caring for someone. To be eligible, the person they are looking for must be getting a disability benefit, like Pip (the personal independence payment).
Kirsty McHugh, the trust’s CEO, said:
Proposals to tighten eligibility criteria for benefits will strike fear into the heart of many carers. Around half a million carers look after someone receiving personal insurance payments (Pip), and nearly 150,000 people rely on both Pip and Carer’s Allowance. Disabled people and their carers are already among the most vulnerable in our society and more likely to live in poverty. Reducing their access to a financial safety net could push them over the edge.
Two left-leaning thinktanks has issued statements criticising the proposed disability benefit cuts.
Tom Pollard, head of social policy at the New Economic Foundation, says:
The cuts to benefits announced today have clearly been designed to meet a savings target imposed by the Chancellor’s arbitrary and self-imposed fiscal rules, rather than ensuring ill and disabled people get the support they need. Cutting the income of those who need support will not address the underlying factors leading to more people becoming unwell and disabled, it will only make them worse.
And Paul Kissack, chief executive at the Joseph Rowentree Foundation, says:
No truly moral choice would leave disabled people without the very support that is designed to allow them to lead a dignified life, nor would it leave them facing hardship. These would be unprecedented disability benefits cuts.
Ideas like the Right to Try Guarantee help to remove the barriers that prevent people from working but enormous cuts mean the Government risks undermining these positives. Making it harder for people to qualify for support, or cutting their support, puts more pressure on people who are already struggling to cope.
Britons, including Tory supporters, back net zero by 2050 policy, poll suggests, as Badenoch says it’s impossible
This morning Kemi Badenoch gave a speech saying that reaching net zero by 2050 is impossible. (See 10.47am.) But YouGov has published polling suggesting that 61% of people support the commitment, and only 24% of people are opposed. Even among Conservative supporters, 52% are in favour.
While Kemi Badenoch has branded net zero by 2050 “impossible”, 61% of Britons and 52% of Tory voters say they support the commitment – although this figure has fallen in recent years
Support: 61% (-10 from Jul 2023)
Oppose: 24% (+8) pic.twitter.com/JM8TsnVDkb— YouGov (@YouGov) March 18, 2025
Up to 1.2m people could lose between £4k and £6k per year by 2029 from Pip changes, Resolution Foundation says
The Resolution Foundation has also put out a statement about the benefit cuts. It says the changes to the rules for Pip (the personal independent payment) could cost up to 1.2 million people between £4,200 and £6,300. It says:
The main savings are to be achieved through restricting entitlement to Pip – a benefit that is paid regardless of whether someone is in work, to compensate for the additional costs of being disabled.
The foundation says that if the government plans to save £5 billion from restricting Pip by making it harder to qualify for the ‘daily living’ component, this would mean between 800,000 and 1.2 million people losing support of between £4,200 and £6,300 per year by 2029-30.
With seven-in-ten Pip claimants living in families in the poorest half of the income distribution, these losses will be heavily concentrated among lower-income households. This looks like a short-term ‘scored’ savings exercise, rather than a long-term reform, says the foundation, given that ministers have also said they will look again at how Pip is assessed in the future.
The foundation also says up to four million families will benefit from general universal credit becoming a bit more generous- but only by around £3 per week.
Louise Murphy, a senior economist at the foundation, said:
Around one million people are potentially at risk of losing support from tighter restrictions on PIP, while young people and those who fall ill in the future will lose support from a huge scaling back of incapacity benefits.
The irony of this health and disability green paper is that the main beneficiaries are those without health problems or a disability. And while it includes some sensible reforms, too many of the proposals have been driven by the need for short-term savings to meet fiscal rules, rather than long-term reform. The result risks being a major income shock for millions of low-income households.
Around 600,000 people now getting UC sickness top-up could lose £2,400 a year from 2028-29 under reforms, IFS says
The government has not yet published its impact assessment that will show how many people will be affected by the cuts to sickness and disability benefits announced today. That will come out next week, alongside the spring statement.
But the Institute for Fiscal Studies has published an analysis that does give some figures for the number of people likely to be affected. Here are the key numbers.
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The IFS says that about 600,000 people who currently get the health element of universal credit (UC) – top-up payments because they are sick (see 12.27pm) – but who do not get Pip (the personal independence payment) would be worse off by £2,400 a year from 2028-29. That’s because the new rules imply they would lose the top-up, it says.
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People claiming the UC top-up for the first time under these rules will get £2,500 a year less under the new system than they would have done under the old one, the IFS says.
The IFS also says that the changes are designed to incentivise more sick and disabled people into work. But it says some of the measures could be counter-productive. By linking receipt of the UC health top-up to claiming Pip, the new rules could encourage even more people to apply for Pip. And, by increasing the value of basic UC, that could reduce the incentive for people on it to get a job, the IFS says.
Commenting on the plans, Tom Waters, an associate director at IFS said:
This package is a fundamental break from the past few decades of welfare policy. The increase in basic out-of-work support, while not very large, is the biggest permanent real terms rise since at least 1980. With it is promised even higher support in the period shortly after job loss in the form of contribution-based unemployment insurance.
At the same time the health-related benefit system will be tightened, cut, and entitlement will no longer depend upon whether you can work or not.
The hope is more employment and fewer people in the disability and incapacity benefit system.
The risk is that it’s precisely the individuals receiving health-related benefits that are least responsive to financial incentives to work, and perhaps most in need of extra financial support.
UPDATE: The headline, and the sentence after the first bullet point, have been changed to say there are 600,000 people who get top-up UC but not Pip who would lose £2,400 from 2028-29, not 900,000. The IFS made a mistake in its original statement, but has now corrected it.
Government launches consultation on ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting
Aamna Mohdin
Aamna Mohdin is the Guardian’s community affairs correspondent.
The government has opened a consultation on the proposed equality (race and disability) bill, which would require companies with 250 or more employees to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps. Officials say the move aims to improve workplace transparency and tackle pay disparities.
WeCalibrate, a diversity advocacy group, welcomed the proposal, citing a survey of 10,000 UK workers where over 77% supported broader pay gap reporting.
Jinan Younis, WeCalibrate’s founder, said:
Pay gap reporting isn’t just a compliance issue, it’s a trust issue. We encourage organisations to listen carefully to their staff, and consider how increased reporting could enhance trust within their organisations.
The consultation comes amid concerns about a backlash against diversity initiatives in the UK. Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it would halt further DEI regulatory improvements.
Reboot, a campaign group championing DEI in the financial services sector, criticised the decision. The founder, Noreen Biddle Shah, said:
Throughout 2024, we observed growing resistance to DEI initiatives, driven by geopolitical instability, rising populism, and financial pressures fuelling ESG fatigue. The FCA’s decision risks reinforcing this trend, despite clear evidence that employees across the sector overwhelmingly support greater action.
The disconnect between regulatory decisions and workforce sentiment is striking.
Oxfam says No 10’s decision to disown Lammy’s comment about Israel breaking international law in Gaza ‘appalling’
Turning away from the welfare cuts for a moment, Oxfam has described No 10’s decision to over-rule David Lammy, and disown his comment about Israel being in breach of international law by blocking aid to Gaza, as “appalling”.
As Kiran Stacey reports, the No 10 declaration in effect saying Lammy was wrong came at the morning lobby briefing. (See 12.13pm.)
In response Oxfam’s chief executive, Halima Begum, said:
Israel has been committing non-stop violations of international law in Gaza and the West Bank for over a year; including most recently blocking all aid into Gaza, collectively punishing over two million people who are already living in apocalyptic conditions. These war crimes have been televised and reported by countless organisations and legal bodies, from the UN to the International Court of Justice.
Today of all days, when Israel has resumed its illegal bombing campaign and forced displacement orders on Palestinians in Gaza, for the government to row back on the foreign secretary’s words is nothing short of appalling. The UK government must condemn these crimes in the strongest terms immediately and stop its complicity in this catastrophic crisis.
By contrast, the Conservative party issued a statement implying that Lammy was equating Israel with Hamas. Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said:
David Lammy’s absolute focus should be on securing the release of the 59 remaining hostages held by Hamas since the atrocities of October 7 2023 … Labour should be clear that there is no moral equivalence between Hamas and the democratically elected government of Israel, and we must have no more poorly judged decisions on arms exports designed to placate Labour backbenchers.
TUC urges government to ‘reconsider’ scale of proposed disability benefit cuts
Trade unions have also criticised the disability benefit cuts.
Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said:
While we welcome the decision not to freeze PIP, this package will still lead to significant cuts in entitlements for some disabled people.
As well as ensuring that those with the most severe disabilities are protected, we urge ministers to reconsider the scale of proposed cuts in disabled people’s incomes.
Disabled people who are unable to work must not be pushed further into hardship.
Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said:
The government is in danger of making the wrong choices. We must be protecting the most vulnerable in society and not pitting the poorest against the poorest.
Before cutting benefits, the government should be introducing a wealth tax, so that the very wealthiest in society begin paying their fair share.
And Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
Fifty per cent of children with a disabled parent live in poverty. Taking away from disabled adults pushes their children deeper into poverty. And, more than any other factor, poverty impairs the life chances of children.
Eighty-four per cent of NEU members have told us they often see children fatigued due to the impact of living in poverty. It is now commonplace to find food banks in schools and teachers feeding children from their own pockets. This already dreadful situation will now only become worse.
Here is the Department for Work and Pensions’ news release with its summary of the plans announced today.
And here is the text of Liz Kendall’s statement in the Commons.
Disability benefit cuts ‘will send even more families to food banks’, says Citizens Advice
Like the disability charities (see 1.51pm), welfare and anti-poverty charities are also alarmed at the potential impact of cuts. Here are some of their comments.
From Helen Barnard, director of policy at Trussell, the food bank charity
We’re deeply concerned by the cuts announced to disability payments today. People at food banks have told us they are terrified of how they might survive.
From Child Poverty Action Group’s chief executive Alison Garnham
The prime minister’s vital commitment to improved living standards for all would be shattered if disabled people are left behind. Children in a household where someone has a disability already have a higher risk of poverty and further cuts would only make life harder for many of these families.
The government’s forthcoming child poverty strategy must prioritise investing in the social security system, including by scrapping the two child limit, and it would be undermined by cuts that take support away from people who need it and risk pushing yet more children and families into poverty.
From Oxfam’s domestic poverty lead Silvia Galandini
After the recent slashing of international aid, the government’s plans to cut £5bn in support for people living with illness and disabilities is another deplorable political choice. It unnecessarily risks pushing more people into poverty and hardship while the ballooning bank balances of the UK’s super-rich once again escape scot-free.
From Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice
This government says it wants to boost living standards and tackle child poverty, but you can’t do that while slashing support for those who need it most. Yes, the benefits system needs fixing but these plans will just make life harder for those already struggling.
Our data is clear: disabled people already struggle with financial issues more than others. Many people getting disability benefits are also raising children so these cuts will send even more families to food banks.
We need a benefits system that helps people solve their problems, not create new ones.
In the Commons Liz Kendall has just finished taking questions. Judith Cummins, the deputy Speaker, said that around 100 MPs had asked a question.
Just before she finished, Kendall said she was keen to carry on engaging with MPs and that, if people had further questions, her door was open.
And these are from Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, on Bluesky on the implications of the cuts.
1. Some early green paper thoughts: the cuts to Pip entitlement are as briefed in advance. Looks to me like new UC health claimants will be c£40pw worse off (health element dropping from £97 to £50, UC basic rise of £7), though more may now claim Pip too as it’ll be a single assessment.
2. Introduction of regular Work Support conversations & expansion of employment support is in line with @learnworkuk.bsky.social proposals. £1bn extra funding by 29-30 is big, though we’ll see in Spending Review whether other programmes end … learningandwork.org.uk/resources/re…
3. Looks like take up of employment support will be voluntary (which is good); puts emphasis on voluntary engagement. But fewer people will be in this group, as it’ll be linked to daily living element of Pip. Need to crunch data on who might not be eligible in future.
4. Right to try work, making sure people don’t have to restart claims or be reassessed, is unambiguously good news. Again, along lines we called for. learningandwork.org.uk/resources/re…
5. Not sure why under 22s shouldn’t be eligible for new UC health (which seems the proposal?). Argument is they should be on Youth Guarantee. But I suspect (as with previous govt change to HB entitlement) we’ll end up with a reasonable number of exemptions. So don’t make the change?
6. We have to wait for Spring Statement for equalities & poverty assessment, and likely numbers of extra people in work. We’ll do a bit of number crunching in mean time. There’s lots to welcome here, but ultimately paid for through cuts in Pip which will affect people.
This is from Faisal Islam, the BBC’s economics editor, on the impact of today’s cuts
Govt at this stage is providing no breakdown
But we know theres a £5bn fiscal saving being booked here …
That means hundreds of thousands of Pip receipients will be losing thousands of pounds ….
For example those not scoring 4 points or more on a single section of the daily living element will lose £3500 annual payment in November 2026.
