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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.
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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.
17 May
No 10 actively investigating winter fuel payment changes as fears grow over voter anger
Downing Street is actively investigating changes to the controversial winter fuel payment cut over growing concerns about the policy’s deep unpopularity among voters. No 10 has stepped up its work on reviewing the policy by carrying out internal polling and focus groups on how voters would respond to potential modifications to it.
Reeves faces anger from her local party over plans to cut disability benefits
The Guardian reports that Rachel Reeves’ local Labour party will call for the chancellor to abandon her plans to cut disability benefits as rebellion among MPs over the policy grows. The Leeds West and Pudsey constituency Labour party (CLP), which campaigned to return Reeves to parliament last year as its MP, has agreed to write to her “as soon as possible” to make clear it does not support the cuts.
16 May
Government considers welfare reform concessions as Labour MPs threaten to revolt
Senior Government figures have accepted that there will need to be concessions if they are to win a parliamentary vote on controversial welfare reforms, ITV News understands. Ministers and officials are weighing up what they can offer amid huge anger across the parliamentary party, with dozens of MPs making clear that they are prepared to vote against the changes.
Benefits cuts threaten school-readiness target
Schools Week reports that ministers have not assessed the impact savage cuts to disability benefits – plunging 250,000 more people into poverty – will have on their school-ready metric, part of Labour’s education opportunity mission. Sir Keir Starmer has set a target that 75 per cent of children will have a “good” level of development by the time they start school in 2028. The proportion is currently 68 per cent. But education leaders say reforms to disability benefits could threaten that target.
15 May
Labour revolt grows ahead of key welfare vote, with 50 MPs set to rebel
ITV reports that 50 Labour MPs are set to rebel against government plans to radically change the welfare system, paving the way for the prime minister's biggest revolt yet. . . While 42 MPs have come out publicly, more than 100 MPs are understood to have signed a private letter urging the government to delay the changes and rethink. ITV News understands there are at least six MPs who have signed both letters.
Kendall refuses to apologise after misleading MPs four times in 23 minutes about PIP cuts
The Disability News Service reports that Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has refused to apologise after repeatedly misleading MPs by suggesting that her planned cuts of billions of pounds to personal independence payment (PIP) were linked to supporting disabled people into work.
Labour knowingly hugely discriminating against women for PIP cuts
Benefits and Work reports that the Labour Party is knowingly hugely discriminating against women by using its 4 point or higher rule to reduce the number of personal independence payment (PIP) awards. Currently, daily living component award rates for males and females are just 0.7% apart, but from November 2026 under Labour’s plans, 32% of male claimants are likely to get an award, compared to 25% of female claimants, a ten times greater difference
13 May
Disability benefits cuts definitely going ahead, minister insists - and more not ruled out
ITV briefly interview Stephen Timms and reports that benefits for some disabled people are definitely being cut, a minister has told ITV News, despite a growing backbench rebellion of more than 40 Labour MPs. Timms said "We're bringing forward the proposals. And I expect them to reach the House of Commons in the next couple of months. And I'm very confident that we will get the support there to make the changes that are needed."
UK jobs market continues to weaken
The BBC reports that the UK's job market has continued to weaken with the number of workers on payrolls falling in the first quarter of the year. The number of job vacancies also fell again, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
12 May
Work on combined PIP assessment has begun
Benefits and Work reports that in a desperate effort to distract attention from the growing anger over the proposed personal independence (PIP) cuts, Liz Kendall announced that work has begun on designing a new assessment which will combine the doomed work capability assessment (WCA) with the PIP assessment.
DWP buried damning reports showing work coaches unable to help disabled claimants
Benefits and Work reports that the DWP very quietly published a series of damning disability benefits related reports at 4pm on Friday 2 May, on the eve of a bank holiday and on a day when the news was dominated by the results of the local elections held the day before.
'Up to 100 Labour MPs' warn Keir Starmer of rebellion on benefit cuts
The National reports that as many as 100 Labour MPs have signed a letter warning Keir Starmer that they will not support sweeping cuts to disability benefits, according to reports.
9 May
Inside Labour's benefits rebellion as Keir Starmer faces biggest revolt yet
One MP told The Mirror of those previously wavering on a key benefits vote: 'A lot of people have now decided they are more frightened of the voters than they are of the whips'
8 May
Disability benefit cuts impossible to support, 42 Labour MPs tell Starmer
The Guardian reports that more than 40 Labour MPs have warned the prime minister that planned disability cuts are “impossible to support” and have called for a pause and change in direction.
Police called to half-empty Green Paper consultation
Benefits and Work reports that the DWP’s Green Paper consultation programme hit a new low yesterday when police were called to deal with protestors who wanted to join a half-empty meeting in Manchester.
7 May
Disability benefit cuts to hit 700,000 families already in poverty, DWP forecasts show
The government’s planned disability benefit cuts will hit 700,000 families who are already in poverty, according to internal Department for Work and Pensions forecasts obtained by the Guardian.
What’s behind the rise in disability benefit claims?
Rising rates of disability colliding with greater financial hardship are pushing more people to seek support, argues the New Economics Foundation.
5 May
No 10 rethinking winter fuel payment cut after Labour slump in local elections
The Guardian reports that the government fears further electoral losses from unpopular policy as well as from planned £5bn of benefits cuts
3 May
Academics show Labour is overwhelmingly targeting its own voters with PIP cuts
Benefits and Work reports that a group of academics from Northern universities and health services have calculated how much income each Westminster parliamentary constituency may lose as a result of PIP cuts. Labour constituencies take 92 of the top 100 biggest losers places, with the North East and North West hardest hit, suggesting that PIP cuts are aimed squarely at Labour’s own voters.
PIP cuts blamed by many in Labour as one of causes of election losses
In a round-up of election news, Benefits and Work reports that many figures in the Labour Party are beginning to list the planned cuts to benefits, and personal independence payment (PIP) in particular, as one of the major causes of Labour’s electoral losses at this week’s elections.
2 May
Blundering DWP shares email addresses of all Green Paper consultation event participants
Benefits and Work reports that the blundering DWP yesterday shared the email addresses of all the attendees of the first Pathways to Work Green Paper virtual consultation event in a very basic breach of data confidentiality.
1 May
Man, 46, says he is 'absolutely petrified' of DWP benefits cuts as study raises fears
The Mirror reports that the Trussell Trust charity found that failing to tackle hunger and hardship plaguing Britain is costing the UK £75.6billion a year - and it could get worse due to benefits cuts
30 April
Mental health PIP claimants demonised as cover for massive assault on physical health awards
Benefits and Work reports that under both Conservative and Labour governments, the DWP have colluded with the press to demonise younger claimants living with mental health issues, ADHD and autism. Ministers have joined in, to create a smokescreen which obscures the politically inconvenient truth that the majority of those at risk of losing their personal independence payment (PIP) under the Green paper proposals are older people with physical health conditions – many of whom have worked all their adult life until they became ill.
29 April
Labour’s benefit cuts will cost UK economy billions, charity says
Trussell report finds that higher levels of poverty mean Britain is losing out on £38bn a year of potential output, according to the Guardian.
25 April
Starmer faces Labour revolt over plan to raid bank accounts of benefit claimants
The Guardian reports that Keir Starmer is facing a rebellion over his plan to use direct deductions from people’s bank accounts and the cancellation of driving licences as part of a government crackdown on welfare fraud and over-claiming.
Social Insecurity report by Amnesty International
Amnesty International argues that successive governments have failed to protect basic rights. Instead of dealing with what’s driving poverty and soaring living costs, this government is choosing to make cuts. It’s doing that by framing people who are disabled, ill, and unemployed as a ‘burden’. That narrative isn’t new, but it’s still working. Blame is being shifted onto the people most in need, while those in power avoid responsibility. Amnesty UK has been investigating how cuts, sanctions and systemic failings of the social security system are pushing people deeper into poverty. Our new report, Social Insecurity, shows the UK is breaching its human rights obligations, and it’s time for change.
24 April
Wales and north of England face disability cuts ‘double whammy’
The Guardian reports that a £5bn programme of disability benefits cuts planned by the UK government will disproportionately hit people living in Wales and northern England “entrenching deprivation”, according to new analysis. The consultancy Policy in Practice has looked at how the proposed changes would affect individual regions and local authorities, and found the impact across the UK starkly uneven.
23 April
PIP claimants ‘twice as likely’ to have serious debt as experts advise next steps
The Leicester Mercury reports that people on disability benefits like Personal Independence Payments or the Disability Living Allowance are twice as likely to be dealing with serious debts than their peers. Analysis from debt charity StepChange highlighted the staggering reality facing the most vulnerable communities.
Four out of seven Labour MPs on the DWP select committee lobbied FOR benefit cuts
The Canary reports that four of the seven MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee currently holding a mini inquiry into the Pathways to Work Green Paper are from the notorious ‘Get Britain Working’ group actively backing the cuts?
22 April
The unkindest cuts of all? Unions blast welfare reforms
Unions and disability campaign groups have expressed shock and condemned plans outlined by work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall and chancellor Rachel Reeves to cut welfare benefits by £5 billion — the biggest cut to disability benefits on record.
20 April
I claim PIP - Labour cuts will backfire and push people like me out of work
The i-paper reports that Labour’s plan to cut benefits to boost employment levels will backfire by pushing disabled people out of work, ministers have been warned. Disabled people in work who also depend on personal independence payments (PIP) told The i Paper they were being unfairly targeted for “soul-destroying” welfare cuts.
‘The whole policy is wrong’: rebellion among Labour MPs grows over £5bn benefits cut
The Guardian reports that Labour MPs opposed to the government’s massive £5bn of benefit cuts say they will refuse to support legislation to implement them, even if more money is offered by ministers to alleviate child poverty in an attempt to win them over.
17 April
Ministers scramble to avoid Labour rebellion on disability benefit cuts
The Guardian reports that ministers are scrambling to avoid a damaging rebellion this summer when MPs vote on controversial cuts to disability benefit payments, even offering potential rebels the chance to miss the vote altogether.
16 April
Most at risk PIP health conditions revealed
Benefits and Work has obtained details of the conditions which have the highest number of awards with no 4-point or higher descriptors. The figures, provided under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Labour's PIP cuts are overwhelmingly aimed at older, but still working age, claimants with physical health conditions, many of whom will have been employed for most of their adult life and many of whom will still be employed.
Almost nine out of ten standard rate PIP awards fail new test
Benefits and Work reports that Labour’s proposed new personal independence payment (PIP) 4-point rule will lead to almost nine out of ten current standard daily living awards failing on renewal, a freedom of information request has revealed. In effect, Labour are hiding the virtual abolition of the standard rate behind a seemingly small change to the scoring system.
Where will cuts to sickness and disability benefits fall hardest?
New analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlights how cuts to sickness and disability benefits will fall most heavily on Labour’s heartlands. Of the 100 constituencies with the highest proportion of working-age people in receipt of health-related social security, only 8 are not held by the Labour Party. Exclusive research from More in Common also finds that voters – and particularly those who voted Labour in 2024 – are opposed to these cuts.
15 April
Union prepared to 'bring NI to standstill' in welfare row
The BBC reports that a major trade union has said it is prepared to bring Northern Ireland to a "standstill" to put pressure on Westminster and Stormont over planned changes to welfare payments.
PIP cuts will cost people living with MS their jobs
The proposed Green Paper changes are supposed to be all about getting people into employment. But as a number of claimants living with multiple sclerosis (MS) told the Benefits and Work PIP survey, cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) will have exactly the opposite effect – it will cost them their jobs.
More Labour MPs increase pressure on Keir Starmer to tax wealth over disability cuts amid rebellion fears
More Labour MPs are set to heighten pressure on Keir Starmer to introduce a wealth tax instead of slashing disability benefits amid fears the government is heading for an explosive rebellion, The London Economic can exclusively reveal.
14 April
Proposed PIP cuts already causing harm to people living with SMI
The proposed changes to the PIP scoring system will affect many claimants living with severe mental illness (SMI) and some have already experienced a deterioration in their health, a Benefits and Work survey suggests.
‘There are alternatives to cutting PIP. Why aren’t we using them?’
Labour MP Peter Lamb tells Labour List why he won’t be supporting the PIP cuts.
‘Electoral wake-up call’: dozens of Labour MPs risk losing majorities over welfare cuts
The Guardian reports that at least 80 Labour MPs are at risk of losing their majorities over proposed welfare cuts, according to data shared between Labour MPs who are warning the government that the changes “pose a real electoral risk”.
11 April
Why efforts to get more disabled people into work are flawed
Citizens Advice looks at how the Pathways to Work green paper limits the government’s likelihood of getting more disabled people into work.
Jobs fears as disability scheme owes businesses thousands
The BBC reports that businesses employing disabled people say they are owed hundreds of thousands of pounds by the government, and fear they may have to let staff go. Under the Access to Work scheme, companies and employees can apply for grants to help support disabled people in the workplace.
10 April
Leading Disability Rights Organisations Demand Answers From Secretary of State
Disability Rights UK reports that twenty-one of England's Disabled People's Organisations have signed an open letter alongside Amnesty International, the world's leading human rights organisation, to demand answers to their serious concerns with the human rights implications of the 'Pathways to Work' Consultation.
8 April
Secret locations for Green Paper public consultations
Benefits and Work reports that government is keeping secret the location of venues for public consultations about the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
Ill and disabled people will be made ‘invisible’ by UK benefit cuts, say experts
The Guardian reports that hundreds of thousands of seriously ill and disabled people will become “invisible” and cut adrift from local support services as a result of the government’s £5bn programme of disability benefit cuts, experts have warned.
7 April
PIP changes will hurt Scottish claimants too
Benefits and Work reports that the Westminster benefits cuts will hurt Scottish claimants too, even though PIP has been replaced by adult disability payment (ADP) in Scotland. Westminster will be cutting payments for ADP and carers allowance - carer support payment in Scotland - by 11% by 2029-30.
Starmer promised to create a ‘partnership in power’ with Welsh Labour. He hasn’t – and trouble is brewing
The Guardian reports that while people all over England will feel the pain of the changes to PIP and UC, Wales will be hit disproportionately hard. In Cymru there are 275,000 people receiving Pip. This is 11% of our working-age people, compared with 7% in England.
4 April
Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into Green Paper reforms
The Work and Pensions Committee is undertaking a short inquiry into the impact of the Government’s proposals to reform the disability and health related benefits system, as set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
2 April
Public do not support PIP cuts
A survey for the More in Common non-profit organisation has found that the majority of the public do not support the proposed cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) and believe cost cutting, not getting people back into work, is the main reason for welfare reform.
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.
