The welfare reforms contained in what was originally the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill – now renamed the Universal Credit Bill – have rapidly become one of the Labour government’s first major political battles. Introduced just days after taking office, it faced immediate backlash from MPs across the political spectrum, as well as disability rights organisations, and carers’ groups. That pressure intensified through the second reading on 1st July, when the government made significant concessions to limit reforms to new claimants only, and paused PIP eligibility changes until Stephen Timms has concluded his review into Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments in Autumn of 2026.
At the third reading on 9th July, the Bill passed by 336 votes to 242, despite 47 Labour MPs voting against it. The government again made concessions, including removing the proposed 4-point PIP eligibility rule entirely, and accepting amendments to embed a co-production taskforce within the Timms review.
These concessions are welcome. They demonstrate the strength of public and parliamentary opposition to reforms that risk pushing disabled people and carers further into poverty. However, serious concerns remain. Some of the most damaging proposals are still included in the Bill – including the cuts to the Universal Credit (UC) health element for new claimants – and others have merely been delayed rather than abandoned.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper: A parallel process of welfare reform?
The Bill is progressing alongside the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March, which sets out wider welfare reform proposals for public response. While recent concessions have changed parts of the Bill, the Green Paper continues to explore broader and future changes to disability benefits and work incentives. Together, they form a comprehensive reform programme that will shape the lives of millions of disabled people and carers.
However, many of the most fundamental changes – particularly to PIP and UC – remain under discussion without meaningful consultation, despite their potentially detrimental effects on disabled people and carers, as previously outlined in Charlie Grosset’s commentary on the proposed welfare reforms in April of this year.
While we offered support for the use of evidence-based measures to help carers and disabled people return to work, the Centre for Care’s response to the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation also highlighted several areas of profound concern. While some have been debated in the passage of the Bill currently before Parliament, others seem likely to be debates of the coming months. The Centre for Care is particularly concerned about the following changes suggested in the Green Paper:
- Restrictions to PIP eligibility, allowing access only for people who score 4 points or more, and with consequences for unpaid carers who stand to lose their Carer’s Allowance if the person they care for loses their PIP. This was included in the Bill, but has now been dropped following concessions at its third reading; and we welcome the principles outlined in the Terms of Reference for the Timms Review, including that the purpose is to ensure PIP assessment is fair and fit for purpose, rather than to generate savings, and that it will be co-produced.
- Changed eligibility criteria for the UC health element, requiring receipt of PIP and reducing payments for many. This remains in the Bill, and is not being consulted on.
- Removal of access to UC health support for under-22s. This is included in the Bill but is also being consulted on through the Green Paper.
- Reform of the Access to Work Programme, with little guarantee of its future scope, and leaked reports suggesting cuts. This is not included in the Bill, but is under consultation in the Green Paper.
Of further concern is the lack of consideration in the Green Paper of the consequences of disability benefit cuts on carers’ financial circumstances.
The Centre for Care’s Response
Below, we summarise the Centre for Care’s response to the consultation, setting out why these reforms remain deeply concerning and what must change as the Bill progresses through Parliament.
1. Restricting PIP eligibility will remove support from many who need it. While the proposed restriction of PIP eligibility to those scoring 4 points or more has now been dropped following parliamentary opposition, Citizens Advice highlighted that around 1.3 million current claimants would fall below the proposed 4‑point PIP threshold – nearly half of all daily living recipients. This highlights the scale of risk should similar proposals be revisited after the forthcoming Timms review. It is misguided to assume those with lower scores have less need; scoring low points across multiple activities often reflects the complexity of someone’s condition.
2. Cuts to disability benefits will increase deprivation for vulnerable groups. 60% of households claiming both a disability benefit and Carer’s Allowance (CA) live in poverty, according to DWP statistics. Cuts to PIP, if reintroduced in future reforms, could mean 150,000 unpaid carers lose entitlement to CA and the carers element of UC, pushing many further into hardship. Disabled carers would face a double hit if they lose both their own PIP and CA linked to the person they care for.
3. Proposed reforms will not necessarily increase work engagement. The Green Paper assumes that cutting financial support will encourage employment, but this is unsubstantiated. PIP is not an out-of-work benefit; nearly a quarter of PIP recipients supported by Citizens Advice are already in employment. Cuts risk pushing disabled people and carers deeper into poverty, undermining confidence, decision-making, and self-esteem – factors critical to gaining and sustaining work.
4. Benefit cuts will increase deprivation and discourage employment. In our consultation response, we highlighted that proposals such as tightening PIP eligibility criteria would exacerbate deprivation and discourage work engagement. While this particular change has been dropped, it is vital that future decisions reflect impact modelling and lived experience evidence to avoid such harms. We also called for impact modelling and qualitative research to identify the groups most vulnerable to these changes, taking account of the extensive evidence already available from disability and care organisations such as Disability Rights UK, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and Carers UK. Finally, we emphasised the importance of including carers and disabled people in consultation before implementing changes, ensuring that vital lived experiences inform policy decisions.
A full list of our recommendations is available in the Centre for Care’s Consultation Response – The Pathways to Work Green Paper (click here to read the response- PDF).
Next steps for Labour’s welfare reforms
The Universal Credit Bill will now move to the House of Lords for further scrutiny and potential amendment before becoming law. This provides an ongoing opportunity for peers to challenge remaining proposals and press for changes that further protect disabled people and carers.
In parallel, the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation remains open, shaping the future direction of welfare reform beyond what is legislated in the Bill. The consultation outcomes will inform programme design, secondary legislation, and implementation detail, meaning there is still scope to influence how reforms are developed and delivered in practice.
Together, these processes will determine the support available to millions of disabled people and carers in the coming years. It is vital that MPs, peers, policymakers, and the public continue to scrutinise and challenge proposals that risk deepening poverty and inequality.
The Centre for Care will continue to engage with both the Bill and the consultation process to advocate for policies that enable disabled people and carers to live with dignity, security, and opportunity.
