Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department's consultation on the Health and Disability Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, does not include proposals to (a) abolish the Work Capability Assessment, (b) freeze the Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity element and (c) make change to the PIP daily living component; and if she will (i) change that consultation to include those measures and (ii) extend the consultation period.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans and proposals for reform to health and disability benefits and employment support. This includes urgently needed reforms to PIP eligibility and Universal Credit rates that are not subject to consultation but which Parliament will fully debate and vote on. The reforms are included in the Green Paper to provide the wider context.

We are also scrapping the Work Capability Assessment to end the dysfunctional process which drives people into dependency – delivering on the Government’s commitment to reform or replace it. The details will be set out in a White Paper in autumn 2025, following the Green Paper consultation, which closes on 30 June. This will be followed by further primary legislation, which we expect to take forwards in the second session, subject to parliamentary approval. We will not be changing the scope of the consultation or extending the consultation period.

The Green Paper does consult on many key elements of the reform package, including employment support and Access to Work, which are at the centre of our plans to improve the system for disabled people. We hope that a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation, and we are holding a programme of public consultation events across the country to help facilitate input.

We are also developing other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific work areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.