UK: Disability benefits (UC, ESA and PIP) - news and updates 2024 and 2025

JohnTheJack said:
I called Nest today and they say as ME is a 'fatigue' illness, it doesn't count.
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FFS. The criteria are a bit absurd, aren't they!

If you had a prescription for antidepressants, an asthma reliever or an angina spray, you'd probably qualify even if you were at the mildest end of the spectrum. But because there's no treatment for ME/CFS and you can't see a specialist because there aren't any, it's hard cheddar no matter how ill you are. :banghead:

You'd think people who're mostly housebound by any combination of illnesses would qualify automatically, as it's an indicator of significant disability.

Might be worth a letter to your Senedd member if you've got the energy?


The Octopus Agile scheme is good, by the way, if you can shift your heaviest usage out of the 4pm to 7pm window. I'm on track to save about £130 over the first year, even though my electricity consumption's only half the national average for a small house.

I still use the stove during peak times, I just try to avoid laundry, running the dishwasher, using the electric shower, and cooking things that need ages in a hot oven. I save up laundry for breezy days if I can, because it's cheaper; if it's really windy, they sometimes pay you to use it. That's the only time the tumble dryer ever goes on!
 
JohnTheJack said:
I have now had an phone appointment from my local CAB. She said that there have been some claimants who have voluntarily transferred, received the UC and extra payment without an assessment and then been brought in 6 months' later for a full assessment. They especially bring in those who have been on ESA for years, apparently.

She heavily pushed PIP and said that instead I should stay on ESA and apply for PIP.

Not sure what I'm going to do. As some may know, I am much affected cognitively and am able to do physical stuff in the afternoons so wouldn't qualify on mobility. She said I may on other measures. I don't know.
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With the PIP you have to be able to do a thing
-reliably
-repeatedly (as often as needed, like cooking two meals per day)
- to a reasonable standard
- no longer than twice as long as someone without your illness

So I can indeed walk 200m, but if I do that once in a day I then can’t walk more than 5-10m for the rest of that day and the following day. I also can’t do that more than twice in a week. Therefore in PIP terms I can’t walk more than 20m, for the majority of the day/week.

I really recommend Benefits & Work to help, as well as the CAB, with PIP applications.
 
Kitty said:
FFS. The criteria are a bit absurd, aren't they!

If you had a prescription for antidepressants, an asthma reliever or an angina spray, you'd probably qualify even if you were at the mildest end of the spectrum. But because there's no treatment for ME/CFS and you can't see a specialist because there aren't any, it's hard cheddar no matter how ill you are. :banghead:

You'd think people who're mostly housebound by any combination of illnesses would qualify automatically, as it's an indicator of significant disability.

Might be worth a letter to your Senedd member if you've got the energy?


The Octopus Agile scheme is good, by the way, if you can shift your heaviest usage out of the 4pm to 7pm window. I'm on track to save about £130 over the first year, even though my electricity consumption's only half the national average for a small house.

I still use the stove during peak times, I just try to avoid laundry, running the dishwasher, using the electric shower, and cooking things that need ages in a hot oven. I save up laundry for breezy days if I can, because it's cheaper; if it's really windy, they sometimes pay you to use it. That's the only time the tumble dryer ever goes on!
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Why do NEST class it that way when the WHO and DwP class it as neurological?
 
DWP to introduce PIP benefit change under new Labour plans
The government is set to ask Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants to provide information on the additional costs of their disabilities in a new survey. Recent controversial proposals to revamp the benefit included suggestions to replace PIP's cash payments, which can be up to £737 a month, with vouchers and grants.

However, Labour has indicated it won't proceed with these plans, originally put forward by the Conservatives, and will outline its own disability benefit changes next year. Disability equality charity Scope has welcomed the news that the "'dangerous"' voucher proposals seem to have been scrapped, but insists urgent reforms of PIP are necessary.

PIP is intended to "help with extra living costs" for those with long-term physical or mental conditions or disabilities who struggle with everyday tasks or mobility. Currently, no assessment is made of what these additional expenses are, with claimants instead being evaluated solely on how their health impacts activities such as meal preparation, bathing, dressing, and socialising.
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DWP to introduce PIP benefit change under new Labour plans
 
Currently, no assessment is made of what these additional expenses are, with claimants instead being evaluated solely on how their health impacts activities such as meal preparation, bathing, dressing, and socialising.
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Not to speak of feeding ourselves, and paying our bills, and buying necessities on an inadequate basic income.

The danger in exercises like this is that there are no questions allowing people to make clear that some of the extra costs of disability result directly from government welfare policy.

There are a lot of small costs that disabled people earning a liveable income can absorb without even thinking about it. I know this because it used to apply to me. Some of them can appear to be lifestyle choices even when they're not, including avoiding food intolerances by buying more expensive brands because they don't contain particular ingredients, and using specialised skin products to avoid eczema that used to be supplied on prescription and no longer are.

There are so many of these that it's incredibly laborious to calculate them, but as soon as you're in a position where there's no headroom at all in your finances, they start to have a big impact on your ability to stay well.
 
DWP to end key benefit payment two years earlier than planned
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has decided to bring the end of a key benefit payment forward by two years in a controversial move. The Employment Support Allowance (ESA), which offers crucial financial aid to those with disabilities or health conditions impacting work ability, was initially set to be phased out by 2028.

However, the transfer timeline has been accelerated, prompting current ESA recipients to shift onto Universal Credit before April 2026. This change forms part of the government's larger ambition to migrate various benefits to Universal Credit, a plan reasserted in the Chancellor's latest Autumn Statement.

The Autumn Statement documents revealed: "This move will bring more people into a modern benefit regime, continuing to ensure they are supported to look for and move into work. Around half of ESA claimants will receive more financial support on UC, while others will receive transitional protection to ensure nobody is worse off at the point at which they move over to UC."

To assuage concerns, the DWP assures that 'transitional protection' measures will makeup for any shortfall when claimants transition from ESA to Universal Credit. This means that individuals will not face a drop in income due to the changeover.
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DWP to end key benefit payment two years earlier than planned

 
But....I was under the impression...that according to the current government.....UC was unfit for purpose, and that it would be scrapped when they got into power, which they have now done.

Diametrically opposed to the position they have now adopted, that UC is so fair and perfect that it should be rolled out much faster than the previous government intended.

Of course, as a disabled person on UC, I have absolutely no position on this, as that could be seen as a political statement if I had, but even so....it suggests that many of our leaders, of all parties, are [please insert polite and diplomatic term for 'bare faced liars', saying whatever is convenient for them at the time], as this is not a minor adjustment of their previously stated, shouted, position, it's even more than a complete and absolute reversal.
 
Yet more evidence in favour of a universal basic income, to dispense with all this poisonous morality-play crap the sick and disabled and poor and plain unlucky have to wear so the rest of society can feel all smug and superior.

There is a very interesting thought experiment about this stuff. Imagine that you alone have the power to set the rules for a society from scratch. The rules can be anything you want.

So what's the catch? You cannot change them once they are in place, and you don't know where into that society you will be born, what the circumstances of your start in life will be, including economic, social, and health status, and the level of talent and opportunity to use it you will have.

Now go make the rules.
 
JohnTheJack said:
I've tried a few times to phone the 0800 line to ask for a PIP form, but it doesn't connect. Have others had this problem? I wonder if they're particularly busy, so it just doesn't connect.
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It's usually around a 50 minute wait, sometimes longer, and calls are not infrequently dropped halfway. It's frustrating, but unfortunately normal.

I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't alternate extremely loud music with much quieter announcements, so that you can't just turn the phone volume down, put the handset on the sofa, and wait until the racket stops. You have to keep picking it up to make sure it IS a recorded announcement, not a real person answering. When I'm in charge of the world, that will be classified as a form of torture and outlawed.
 
PS: you can claim by post by sending a request for a form to Freepost DWP PIP 1 (nothing else is needed on the envelope).

Allegedly it takes longer to claim that way, but that might not take into account the fact that it takes forever to get through on the phone at the moment.

Th other thing to say is that new claims are time limited. A clock starts ticking when your form is sent out, and if you don't return it within a period of time (Benefits & Work may be able to tell you roughly what that is), the claim's deleted from the system and you'd have to request a new form. It's not a ridiculously short time, but it's less than some people may need to finish an application. Thought I'd mention that, in case you hadn't picked it up.
 
Kitty said:
It's usually around a 50 minute wait, sometimes longer, and calls are not infrequently dropped halfway. It's frustrating, but unfortunately normal.

I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't alternate extremely loud music with much quieter announcements, so that you can't just turn the phone volume down, put the handset on the sofa, and wait until the racket stops. You have to keep picking it up to make sure it IS a recorded announcement, not a real person answering. When I'm in charge of the world, that will be classified as a form of torture and outlawed.
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Thanks. It's not even connecting at the moment: 'Couldn't connect'.
 
Kitty said:
PS: you can claim by post by sending a request for a form to Freepost DWP PIP 1 (nothing else is needed on the envelope).

Allegedly it takes longer to claim that way, but that might not take into account the fact that it takes forever to get through on the phone at the moment.

Th other thing to say is that new claims are time limited. A clock starts ticking when your form is sent out, and if you don't return it within a period of time (Benefits & Work may be able to tell you roughly what that is), the claim's deleted from the system and you'd have to request a new form. It's not a ridiculously short time, but it's less than some people may need to finish an application. Thought I'd mention that, in case you hadn't picked it up.
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Ah good to know, thanks.
 
DWP Provides New Update on Controversial Plans to Replace PIP Cash Payments with Vouchers
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is considering sweeping reforms to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system, including the potential replacement of monthly cash payments with vouchers.

The proposal, which is part of a wider review aimed at modernising disability benefits, has sparked intense criticism from claimants, advocacy groups, and charities. Concerns centre on the impact such changes would have on the autonomy and financial stability of millions of disabled individuals.

Proposed Alternatives to PIP Cash Payments Spark Widespread Concerns
The reforms, initially explored in a green paper under the previous government, include options to overhaul the current PIP cash payment system. Alternatives being considered range from vouchers and one-off grants to receipt-based reimbursements and catalogue-style benefits. The government argues these changes are part of an effort to modernise and streamline the system to better support disabled people.

However, the lack of clarity about the final direction has fuelled anxiety among claimants. Labour MP Liz Kendall, who has taken a lead role in consultations, acknowledged these concerns: “I was very struck particularly by the comments people made around shifting support to vouchers. Many organisations said their real concern was that it took away people’s autonomy, particularly when services are so stretched and tight.”
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DWP Provides New Update on Controversial Plans to Replace PIP Cash Payments with Vouchers
 
https://www.icontact-archive.com/ar...4b7e81a15d03a3040ca2700682dadb514b7c01a8d57f0

63,000 ESA CLAIMANTS TO MIGRATE TO UC EVERY MONTH FROM FEBRUARY

The DWP has announced that it is ramping up the managed migration of employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants to UC over the next few months.

The numbers involved will be very much greater than the department has dealt with before, up from an average of 36,000 to 63,000 a month from February 2025 until early December 2025.

In addition, a significant proportion of ESA cases are likely to be more complex than those the DWP have dealt with so far.

The targets were made public by DWP minister Stephen Timms, who also revealed that the Citizens Advice Help To Claim service, will receive “up to a further £15m” to provide free and confidential advice to ESA claimants subject to the move.

So far, the DWP has failed to sort out the basics of dealing with ESA claimants, such as ensuring that they are not required to provide fit notes and that work coaches understand that claimants in the support group must not be expected to agree to work-related commitments.

They now have very little time to put these things right before the main ESA migration begins.


OVER A QUARTER OF UC MIGRATIONS HAVE FAILED SO FAR
Over a quarter of all the households sent a UC mandatory migration notice up to May 2024 failed to make a claim and had their legacy benefits stopped, according to figures released by the DWP last week.

The DWP stress that “the majority of migration notices had been sent to tax credit households whose likelihood of claiming UC and receiving transitional protection may be different from DWP legacy benefit customers.”

In other words, the percentage of ESA claims that fail may be different to the percentage of claims that have failed so far.

The DWP are clearly implying that they may be lower, but the reality is that nobody knows because, if any research has been done, it has not been published.


SUCCESSFUL ESA TO UC MANAGED MIGRATION GUIDE

Following numerous requests, Benefits and Work has published a detailed members’ guide to “Successful ESA to UC Managed Migration”.

The 50 page document takes you through the whole migration process, warning of potential pitfalls and ensuring that you are better informed than many of the DWP staff you may have to deal with along the way.

Amongst other things we explain how to:
  • prepare for migration even before receiving your notice arrives
  • do a trial run through of the complete form
  • ask for an extension of the deadline if you need one
  • decide the best time to make your claim after you get your notice
  • understand what the options are for proving your identity
  • challenge an unfair or unlawful claimant commitment, including using the cooling-off period to buy time
  • understand how your UC award is calculated
  • request reasonable adjustments, such as not having to travel to a jobcentre
  • use complaints to get fair treatment
  • avoid sanctions
Our guide to “Successful ESA to UC Managed Migration” will give you the knowledge to help ensure that your move to UC goes as smoothly as possible.

Members can download it now from the ESA/UC Guides page.
 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-britain-working-white-paper

From Benefits & Work newsletter

https://www.icontact-archive.com/ar...4b7e81a15d03a3040ca2700682dadb514b7c01a8d57f0

WHITE PAPER BRINGS MONTHS MORE UNCERTAINTY FOR DISABLED CLAIMANTS

The much awaited Get Britain Working White Paper published last week fails to give any information about a proposed overhaul of the health and disability benefits system, instead revealing that a consultation will begin in the Spring.

The document says that the government:

“will bring forward measures to overhaul the health and disability benefits system so it better supports people to enter and remain in work and to tackle the spiralling benefits bill. A consultation will be published in Spring as part of a commitment to put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of any policy changes that directly affect them”

The decision means that millions of claimants will spend the Christmas period not knowing what plans the DWP has for them in the coming year or how they will be affected by any proposals to “tackle the spiralling benefits bill”.

IS LABOUR PLANNING TO SCRAP THE WCA?

Whilst the Get Britain Working White Paper has little concrete to say about benefit reform, there are strong hints that Labour is going to either scrap the WCA or alter it almost beyond recognition.

The document argues that the current health and disability benefits system:

rigidly categorises people as either able or unable to work, instead of reflecting the complex reality and fluctuating nature of people’s health conditions;

leaves people judged unable to work without further support or engagement;

involves lengthy and complex processes that can be hard for people to navigate, with multiple assessments and too many disputed decisions.

Instead, Labour says it wants a system which:

is simpler to navigate;

focuses on preventing people falling out of work;

moves away from binary categories of fit for work, or not fit for work, meaning people do not need to demonstrate they are too sick to work to access financial support;

empowers people to feel able to engage with employment support and try work without fear of losing benefit.

We still have no indication of what Labour intends to put in place of the current system.

But there now seems little likelihood that the Spring Green Paper will simply propose minor changes to WCA activities and descriptors in order to reduce the benefits bill.

HOW WILL THE WHITE PAPER PROVISIONS AFFECT DISABLED CLAIMANTS?

The government claims that the Get Britain Working White Paper sets out a plan for “radical reform” of employment opportunities, especially for the 2.8 million people “locked out of work due to long-term sickness”.

But how much difference will the White Paper really make to claimants lives?

Our close examination of the four “priorities” in the White Paper, aimed at getting disabled claimants into work reveals that the first two priorities will make very little difference.

The ‘Improving health’ priority will mostly mean shorter hospital waiting lists for everyone and more voluntary Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for claimants.

The ‘Mobilising local leadership’ priority will largely result in some employment-related central government funding being given to local authorities instead.

The third priority, ‘Supporting employers’ is not even at the consultation stage yet and is unlikely to result in anything more radical than some employers adopting a voluntary code of practice.

The final priority, ‘Benefit reform’ is based on a Green Paper that won’t even appear until next Spring.

So, whilst the forthcoming Green Paper, with its £3 billion in benefit cuts may have a real effect on claimants’ lives, the White Paper seems destined to disappear almost without trace.

ESA MIGRATION FIT NOTE PROBLEM ALLEGEDLY FIXED

The DWP claims to have applied a ‘fix’ to the problem of ESA) claimants who are migrated to UC being unlawfully asked to provide fit notes.

As regular readers will be aware, there have been many instances of work coaches demanding fit notes as well as trying to impose work-related requirements on former support group members during claimant commitment meetings.

On 16 October Neil Couling, the head of the DWP’s UC team admitted on X that the DWP were getting it wrong and that a “tactical fix” would soon be applied, followed by a full system fix.

On 27 November Couling took to X again to say a fix had been applied which should mean that ESA claimants who made their claim for UC from Monday 25 November onwards will not be asked for a fit note. Instead they will be placed in the LCW or LCWRA group of UC, as appropriate.

We’ll be watching carefully to see if this fix has actually worked before we make any changes to our guide to “Successful ESA to UC Managed Migration”.


 
rigidly categorises people as either able or unable to work, instead of reflecting the complex reality and fluctuating nature of people’s health conditions;
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empowers people to feel able to engage with employment support and try work without fear of losing benefit
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Some of this could potentially be good. I'm an example of a disabled person who had to give up work because of the benefits system: I could do part time self employed work on short contracts for about four or five months, then the accrued PEM meant I'd have to take three or four months off. For the first 13 weeks of that recovery period, I'd only receive about half the benefit amount I'd previously been entitled to.

That meant working left me with a lower annual income than staying on benefits at the higher rate all year round, which is nonsensical. It also meant there were periods when I had no money coming in at all, and on a low income that makes budgeting impossible. It was so stressful I ended up too unwell to work anyway.

So while it could work for some disabled people I've no confidence it actually would, because it'd be administered by DWP. When their motto's translated from Latin, it means "Contempt above all else". The entire department needs dismantling.
 
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