Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that adequate transition arrangement are put in place to help support people with changes to the levels of benefits.

There will be no immediate changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Our intention is that the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.

For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply at their next award review. The average award review is about three years.

When people are reassessed, they will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, and assessed on their individual needs and circumstances.

The personal impact will depend on an individual’s circumstances. We are consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.

In regards to Universal Credit (UC), for people who already receive the UC health element the rate of the UC health element will be frozen at £97pw until 2029/2030 but this group will receive an increased UC entitlement in cash terms as a result of the increased standard allowance.

In addition, we will guarantee that no-one who has been found Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) prior to April 2026 and remains LCWRA following reassessment will see their UC health element entitlement changed. We will ensure that this group do not fear a loss of their benefit rate from working.

For new claims the rate of the UC health element will be reduced by £47pw (from £97pw in 2024/2025 to £50pw in 2026/2027). However, this group will benefit from the higher standard allowance, which will partially offset this reduction.

For those receiving the new reduced UC health element after April 2026, we are proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected through an additional premium. We will also guarantee that for both new and existing claims, those in this group will not need to be reassessed in future