Plans to reform Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and reassess claimants with a greater focus on employment have drawn sharp criticism from campaigners and MPs. The concerns follow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ comments during a recent appearance before the Commons Treasury Committee, as detailed in a report by the Disability News Service, where she appeared to link upcoming PIP cuts to the government’s strategy for moving more disabled people into work.
PIP Cuts and the Pathways to Work Strategy
The UK government plans to cut more than £4.5 billion annually from the PIP budget by 2029–30. During questioning, Reeves repeatedly referenced the Pathways to Work green paper, which promotes tailored one-on-one support, employment assistance, and skills training for people with disabilities.
While PIP is a non-means-tested benefit designed to help disabled people with additional daily living and mobility costs—whether in or out of work—Reeves’ statements gave the impression that the new reassessment process could be a vehicle for funnelling more disabled people into work programmes.
Reeves explained that reassessments would ensure that claimants are “seen face-to-face by a trained assessor to make sure they get the support they need, whether that is support in terms of benefits or support in terms of getting into work.”
Changes to Eligibility Criteria
One of the key policy shifts will require future PIP claimants to score at least four points in one activity to qualify for the daily living component—a move that campaigners warn could disqualify thousands from support. The mobility component remains unchanged under current proposals.
Liberal Democrat MP Bobby Dean pressed the chancellor on whether the expected 800,000 people who will lose PIP eligibility by 2029–30 were realistically going to find employment as a result. Reeves did not directly address the figure, but reinforced the government’s view that more disabled people could work with the right adjustments and support.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people with a disability who want to work, and many who already do,” she said, adding that government policy aims to support them through workplace adjustments and training.
Impact on Universal Credit and Disability Rights
Reeves’ statements also drew attention to changes in Universal Credit, which will see the health element for new claimants reduced from £97 to £50 per week by 2026–27, and frozen for existing recipients until 2029–30. Under new rules, only those qualifying for PIP will retain access to the health component of Universal Credit.
Campaigners have warned that those found ineligible for PIP could lose critical financial support and be subject to work-related conditions and potential sanctions, despite still living with disabling conditions.
Growing Student and Activist Backlash
The planned reforms have sparked a grassroots campaign from the newly-formed Universities Against Disability Cuts (UADC), led by a disabled student from Swansea University. The campaign argues that cuts to PIP will severely impact disabled students’ ability to remain in education and could force many into poverty or homelessness.
The group has already gained support from students at King’s College London, York, and other universities, with open letters demanding that institutions publicly oppose the cuts.
Student organiser Jenna warned that the proposals could be “devastating”, stating: “The government’s planned £4.5 billion cuts would drive disabled people out of work and education and into poverty, homelessness, and tragically is also likely to result in a loss of life.”
Wider Political Reactions
Activist organisations such as WOWpetition and Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) have renewed pressure on the Labour government to carry out a cumulative impact assessment of all planned welfare changes. In a joint statement, WOWpetition said: “We plead with Labour to think again before more disabled people die as a result of austerity targeted at them.”
They also criticised the government for following a pattern set by previous austerity measures under David Cameron and George Osborne, accusing it of failing to acknowledge the disproportionate effect of tax and benefit changes on disabled people.
