What is the Green paper?
The Green Paper is the government’s consultation document about changes it is considering making to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and universal credit (UC).
It is possible that not all – or not any – of the proposals will actually become law. With many Labour backbenchers unhappy about cutting benefits, a lot will depend on how much of an outcry the proposals cause.
You can download the Green Paper from this link.
What are the main changes in the Green Paper?
PIP
From November 2026, claimants will need to score at least 4 points from a single descriptor to qualify for the daily living component of PIP, as well as scoring a total of at least 8 points..
So, if you select 4 descriptors scoring two points each, that will be 8 points, but it will not qualify for an award.
But if you select one descriptor scoring 4 points and two descriptors scoring 2 points, that will be 8 points and you will qualify for an award.
The changes will apply to new claimants and to existing claimants when their award is reviewed.
The mobility component will not be affected.
UC
From April 2026, the UC health element will be frozen at £97pw until 2029/30.
For new claims, the rate of the UC health element will be reduced by £47pw (from £97pw in 2024/2025 to £50pw in 2026/2027).
The UC standard allowance for new and existing claims will be increased. This will mean the single person 25+ rate of UC standard allowance increasing by £7 per week (pw) (from £91pw in 2024/2025 to £98pw in 2026/2027).
For people receiving the new reduced UC health element after April 2026, those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work, will receive an additional premium.
Existing claimants: the DWP say “Those currently in receipt of UC health will benefit from the increased standard allowance and will not be affected by plans to reduce UC health in future.”
Access to the health element of Universal Credit will be delayed until a claimant is aged 22.
WCA
The WCA is to be scrapped in 2028 and a new single assessment system introduced. Under the new system, any extra financial support for health conditions (including PIP, ESA or UC health) will be assessed via a single assessment which will be based on the PIP assessment – considering on the impact of disability on daily living, not on capacity to work.
Reassessments for incapacity benefits, will be resumed until the WCA is scrapped, with exceptions for those who will never work and those under special rules for end-of-life care. Reassessments have largely been switched off since 2021.
A "Right To Try Guarantee" will be introduced which will guarantee that attempting work will never lead to a benefits reassessment.
Contribution-based JSA and ESA
Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) will be replaced with a new single entitlement, paid at the current ESA rate (currently £138pw) which will be time-limited.
Assessments
There will be a greater proportion of face-to-face assessments for PIP, UC and ESA.
People with the most severe disabilities or with health conditions that will never improve will never be reassessed.
Assessments will be recorded by default.
How long will the changes take?
The consultation ends on 30 June 2025.
However, because the DWP has chosen not to consult on most of the major issues, including the changes to PIP scoring and the freezing of the health element of UC, it does not have to wait until the consultation ends before bringing forward new legislation for these changes. The DWP have said they want to introduce legislation in this session of parliament, which ends on 21 July.
So it is possible legislation to enact some of the changes, especially to PIP scoring, could be introduced as early as May to try to prevent opposition to the cuts building.
The changes to PIP scoring would still not take effect until November 2026, but the law enabling it could be firmly in place very much sooner.
