Labour’s planned reforms to sickness and disability benefits will begin in 2025, with a consultation set for Spring to ensure better support for those with long-term health conditions
Labour’s much-anticipated reforms to sickness and disability benefits are on track to begin in early 2025. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is preparing to make significant changes. Downing Street has offered an update, confirming that the government will launch a consultation in Spring 2025.
The changes, which are central to Labour’s ‘Get Britain Working Again’ white paper, are part of the party’s commitment to tackle the current welfare system, which they say fails to promote employment for people with long-term illnesses and disabilities. Labour plans to reduce welfare spending by £3 billion over the next four years.
Speaking on the issue, 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 reforms are expected to bring changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), including an increase in the threshold for qualification, which would likely reduce the number of people eligible for the benefit. The DWP has also hinted at a revamp of the controversial Work Capability Assessment (WCA), a process used to assess eligibility for benefits. Under the previous Conservative government’s plans, WCA reforms would have made it harder for people to qualify by changing the descriptors used in assessments.
However, the Treasury has denied that Labour will continue with the same reforms to the WCA, although they have confirmed that the £3bn in welfare cuts. Campaigners have voiced concerns over the plans, particularly around the tightening of disability benefits. Louise Rubin, head of policy at disability charity Scope, commented: “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.”
She added, “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 defence of the reforms, a DWP spokesperson stated: “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.”
