Labour’s reforms to sickness and disability benefits remain set to begin in early 2025, as Downing Street gives an update on the DWP plans.
The party will launch a consultation in Spring 2025 “to ensure the system is better supporting people,” building on the ideas laid out in the ‘Get Britain Working Again’ white paper.
Reforms to health and disability benefits are central to the paper, which says the current system is “not well designed to promote and enable employment.” Labour is also looking to cut £3bn from the welfare spending bill over the next four years.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “We have seen a situation this Government inherited on inactivity, we have seen the situation on the spiralling benefits bill with millions of people on long-term illness or disability out of work and not getting the support that they need, and that is why we are determined to fix this.
“Building on our ‘get Britain working’ White Paper, we will be publishing a consultation in the spring on measures to ensure the system is better supporting people, including young people, to get them into work and keep them in work.
“The Government’s approach is going to be to tackle the root causes of this issue, but it is a massive challenge, it has built up over years.”
Changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are expected, which will increase the threshold for qualification and make less people eligible for the disability benefit.
But the DWP has previously indicated that an overhaul of the Work Capability Assessment be at the heart of the overhaul. Under previous Conservative plans, the WCA reforms would have changed the descriptors used to assess eligibility for certain benefits, making it harder for people to qualify.
The Treasury has denied that Labour is committed to the same changes, but confirms that they will match the £3bn in welfare cuts that the previous government had pencilled in to its spending plans.
Campaigners have criticised these plans, arguing that savings should not be found by making disability benefits stricter.
Responding to the white paper Louise Rubin, head of policy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “It’s good to see a positive vision for supporting disabled people who want to work, but we know there’s still a huge amount of anxiety about the changes the government is planning to make to the benefits system.
“The government is pressing ahead with the previous government’s planned £3bn cuts. But not everybody can work. Tightening up conditions so that disabled people are forced to look for work when they are unwell will be disastrous.”
In response to criticism of the paper, a DWP spokesperson said: “We’ve inherited a spiralling benefits bill with millions of people with a long-term illness or disability out of work and not getting the support they need.
“We’re determined to fix this and, building on our Get Britain Working White Paper, will publish a consultation in Spring on measures to ensure the system is better supporting them – underlined by the fundamental principle of treating people with dignity and respect.
“This government isn’t about sticking plaster politics. This is an incredibly complex challenge – and we will work closely with charities & leading organisations, disabled people and people with health conditions to ensure their voices are heard as we develop our plans.”
