Major changes to health and disability benefits

The DWP (the government Department for Work and Pensions) has written a green paper about the health and disability benefit system called Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working. This document sets out changes to how disabled people are supported by the benefits system. Some of these changes came into place last month, in June 2025. 

What is changing?

Scrapping the Work Capability Assessment (WCA)

The government plans to abolish the WCA and introduce a single assessment to see who is entitled to any extra financial support for health conditions. This will assess eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC).

This new assessment will be modelled on the PIP framework, focusing on how a disability affects daily living rather than work capability. However, eligibility for PIP is also expected to become more stringent.

Freezing the UC health element

UC is a benefit paid to people of working age who are on a low income. There is additional support available called Universal Credit 'health' for people who have health conditions or impairments that limit their ability to work.

From April 2026, the value of the health top-up in UC will be frozen for existing claimants and reduced for new ones. A new premium will be introduced for individuals with severe lifelong conditions. New applicants after the change will only ever receive a maximum of £50 per week (which is £47 less than the current rate).

Changes to PIP daily living assessment

PIP replaced Disability Living Allowance in 2013. It is a benefit for people who need support with everyday life or who find it difficult to get around. PIP comes in two parts:

• A daily living component – for help taking part in everyday life
• A mobility component – for help with getting around

To qualify for PIP, you are assessed and are scored 'points' based on your ability to perform daily tasks. From November 2026, claimants must score at least four points from a single activity and a total of eight points overall to qualify for the daily living component.

Restarting WCA reassessments

The government announced they want to 'restart' reassessments for incapacity benefits, which have not happened since 2021. The reassessment process will restart in 2026 and will mainly be conducted in person, face-to-face. The focus will be on individuals in the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) group and those with short-term conditions.

Find out more and access support

You can find out more about the proposed government changes to disability benefits online and can join in the consultation and have your say on the proposed changes by emailing the DWP.

For advice and support on claiming disability or any other benefits, maximising your income, budgeting or tackling debt you can email or call 023 8083 2339 to talk to our friendly experts in the Welfare Rights and Money Advice team.