After 14 years of damaging Conservative actions and rhetoric on benefits and cuts, people are understandably fearful when they hear about changes to the benefits system. I want to be clear that the reforms announced by the government will not result in any immediate changes.  

I would also like to express my thanks to all those who have written to me about their personal experiences. My team and I are here to help you navigate any changes so please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you need assistance in any way. You can find my contact details here.   

I strongly believe that we need a welfare state that is there for all of us when we need it, now and in the future, that protects those most in need, and that delivers equality and dignity for all. There will always be some people who cannot work, and I assure you that we will protect them. However, the broken welfare system that we inherited from the Conservatives is failing the very people it was designed to help and holding our country back. Many sick and disabled people want to work, and I’m sure you can agree that they deserve the same choices and chances as everyone else to do so.  

Instead, the last government wrote off hundreds of thousands of people and blamed them for an unsustainable rising benefits bill. Instead of providing people the support they needed to get into work, they prioritised cheap headlines and degrading rhetoric. The system the UK Labour Government inherited does not encourage and enable disabled people and those with a health condition into work. It can trap people out of work and tells them they can’t go back.  

I’m proud that the government is already tackling the drivers of people being out of work and supporting people into good jobs. The UK Labour Government working hand in hand with the Welsh labour Government has already boosted the minimum and living wages so that 150,000 eligible workers in Wales will receive a £1,400 a year wage boost, introduced a £125m scheme to help people into work and are bringing Welsh NHS waiting lists down so people can get the treatment they need to get back to work.  

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has announced that we’re going even further, investing £1 billion into employment support. This is one of the largest ever investments in support to increase opportunities to work for sick and disabled people, guaranteeing high quality, tailored support to get people on a Pathway to Work.  

This will come alongside a package of reform to support people into jobs and make the broken system fairer and more sustainable. I’d like to highlight a few of these measures that I believe will make a significant difference to our country and people’s life chances.  

First, we are addressing the perverse financial incentives that hold people back from work under the current system by rebalancing the payments in Universal Credit. This means that we are increasing the standard allowance above inflation for the first time ever, with a £775 cash increase per year by 2029/30 for existing and new claimants, while reducing the health top up for new claims from April 2026, alongside active support to help people back to health and work.  

Alongside this, we will remove barriers by ensuring that going back to work in and of itself will never lead to a reassessment. This ‘right to try’ will give people the confidence to take on job knowing that if it doesn’t work out, they won’t have to start from scratch.  

In addition, we are consulting on a new unemployment insurance that will help people quickly get back on track if they fall out of work, giving them a higher rate of benefit. It’s also important to point out the measures we have announced will protect those who are most in need. We will protect existing Universal Credit claimants by holding their health top-up steady in cash terms while they benefit from the higher standard allowance. 

We are also looking at ways to ensure that those who will never be able to work are afforded confidence and dignity by never having to go through reassessments and proposing an additional Universal Credit premium to offer those people the support they need.  

As it stands, the Work Capability Assessment is not fit for purpose, is failing people and must be addressed. It places people into binary categories that judge people to be able or unable to work, rather than reflecting the complex reality and fluctuating nature of health conditions and life circumstances. Once someone is judged as “unable to work” they’re left behind without any engagement and no routine support to achieve their goals and move towards meaningful activity and work. 

Many disabled people, and people with long term health conditions want to work and live independent lives if they get the right support. For many people currently without it, work is something they deeply miss and aspire to. Over a quarter (27%) of people receiving health and disability benefits believe that work could be possible in the future, if their health improves. An estimated 200,000 say they could work right now with the right support and in the right job. We will support employers to recruit and retain disabled people and people with health conditions through the Keep Britain Working Review. Alongside long-term reform of Access to Work, which provides personalised support for disabled people and people with health conditions to enter and progress in work.  

To improve trust, we will also fundamentally overhaul our safeguarding approach to make sure all our processes and training are of the highest quality – and they protect and support vulnerable people. As we do this, we will work with disabled people, their organisations and others to review the PIP assessment. 

The Government will launch a review of the PIP assessment, led by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, in close consultation with disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts, so that we can ensure that PIP and the assessment process are fit for purpose now and into the future. The Government is not intending on means-testing PIP, because disabled people deserve extra support, whatever their incomes, and I can confirm that the Government will not freeze PIP either.  

Instead, our reforms will focus support on those with the greatest needs. We will legislate for a change in PIP so that people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living element of PIP from November 2026. That will not affect the mobility component of PIP and relates only to the daily living element. 

I hope this has provided some clarity on these reforms, but if you are still concerned, please do contact my office and I will assist you however I am able to.  

Anna

Anna McMorrin
Member of Parliament for Cardiff North | Government Whip
Aelod Seneddol Gogledd Caerdydd | Chwip Llywodraeth