How it started
The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill was first introduced on the 18 June. This was before the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation had concluded and aims to:
make provision to alter the rates of the standard allowance, limited capability for work element and limited capability for work and work-related activity element of universal credit and the rates of income-related employment and support allowance, and to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment.
Our response to the introduction of the Bill can be found here.
Our response to the Pathways to Work Consultation reflects our key concerns with both the Green Paper and the Bill as it currently stands.
Where are we now? (1 July 2025)
Since the first reading of the Bill, there has been mounting concern amongst government backbenchers, disabled people and many others including the Disability Poverty Campaign Group, of which VODG is a member.
We joined with 85 other charities led by the Trussell Trust, to share our concerns with the Bill ahead of MPs voting at the Second Reading. These included the lack of engagement with disabled people on the proposals being made; the financial impact of cuts on disabled people of all ages, families and carers; the significant number of people, even by the government's own figures, who will fall into poverty; and the disconnect the government's drive to support more disabled people into work while simultaneously reducing the social security available to them.
The government has made several changes between the first and second readings of the Bill, including the decision to only apply the proposals to new claimants and a commitment to coproduce the Timms review on PIP with disabled people.
While we welcome the government listening to concerns and protecting existing claimants from immediate cuts, significant concerns remain about creating a two-tiered system where future disabled people receive less support despite facing the same additional costs and barriers.
Important questions need answering before the vote on July 1st 2025: Will current PIP claimants remain protected beyond the 2028 ministerial review? What happens to current Universal Credit health element claimants when the Work Capability Assessment is abolished? These details matter for the hundreds of thousands of people affected.
We appreciate the government's commitment to co-production in future PIP assessment reviews and hope this signals a willingness to work genuinely with disabled people and their organisations. But to do this well requires time, and this Bill has felt rushed from the start. True reform requires addressing root causes - inadequate health services, inaccessible workplaces, and existing poverty affecting disabled households - something lacking from current plans.
VODG stands ready to work constructively with government to develop reforms that genuinely improve disabled people's lives. We urge MPs to seek clarity on these outstanding questions and ensure any legislation truly puts disabled people at its heart. Few people disagree that reform to the welfare system is needed, but not at the cost of diabled people or driving more people into poverty.