The government will set out its response to the Timms and Milburn reviews before the end of this year, with a White Paper being published early in 2027 followed by legislation later that year, Chancellor John Healey announced in his budget speech today. Other measures of importance to claimants include a £100 household energy payment, relief from energy debts for some and the abolition of gas standing charges.
The rapid timetable for PIP changes suggests that Labour is anxious to be seen to be doing something about welfare reform.
However, it should be noted that enacting legislation in 2027 does not mean that major changes to PIP will actually be put in place the same year. Given that it is taking the DWP over three years just to change the calculation software for carer’s allowance, sweeping changes to PIP may not be in place prior to the next election.
The Household Energy Payment will provide a £100 payment to households in Council Tax bands A to D in England from January 2027, to help with their energy costs. Households in England are eligible for the Household Energy Payment if they are liable for council tax on, and live in, a property in council tax bands A to D as their main home.
This will include most households exempt from council tax, with full eligibility criteria to be published in due course.
The Energy Debt Relief scheme means that if you are the energy billpayer and you are on means-tested benefits, disability benefits, or are a pensioner, and you have built up debt since the energy crisis of 2022-4, you may be eligible to have your debt written off through the Debt Relief Scheme, provided you take steps to re-engage with paying your debt.
Standing charges on household gas bills will be removed in 2027, or as soon as possible afterwards, with the cost being transferred to the unit price of gas. Low to average users of gas will benefit from this move. However, it may mean higher bills for people who have to use a large amount of gas because, for example, their health condition means they need to keep warm. The government say there will be “targeted mitigation for some households”.
Some other welfare benefits measures detailed in the budget had already been announced, such as ending the carer’s allowance cliff edge, changes to Motability and cracking down on fraud.
The budget document also claims that Labour are “Committed to stopping claims management companies from charging to help people to claim benefits” although so far the only action taken seems to be social media and other adverts advising people that they should not pay to claim attendance allowance.
In all, there was little in the way of change in this budget that most readers did not already know about. The most important news for claimants is due next month, with the publication of the final reports by the Milburn and Timms reviews.
