Under the proposals announced by Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick, both PIP and the health element of Universal Credit would be replaced by a Health Security Allowance. According to The Independent, an estimated 2.89 million PIP and Universal Credit health claimants are expected to lose their entitlement once the system is fully introduced, more than half of the current 4.5 million claimants.
Claimants Say PIP Helps Them Remain Independent and in Work
PIP is currently available to people whose disabilities or long-term health conditions create additional daily living or mobility costs. Reform’s proposed Health Security Allowance would instead be restricted to people whose condition is considered so severe, enduring or high-risk that they cannot reasonably be expected to support themselves through work.
The new payment would also be means-tested under Universal Credit rules. According to The Independent, working disabled claimants could lose 55p of disability-related support for every £1 they earn above basic thresholds, meaning wages could reduce or eliminate their direct cash payments regardless of their condition.
Steven Morris, 43, who is deafblind and works as a campaigns officer for the disability charity Sense, said PIP helps him pay for taxis to his workplace. He also said the benefit had helped fund therapies that allowed him to remain in employment while avoiding longer waits for treatment through the NHS. “Benefits like PIP actually help disabled people stay in work,” Morris said. He warned that removing support could cause some disabled people to leave the workforce and potentially require other forms of assistance.
Sonia Maud, a beauty technician from Yorkshire who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2011, said her condition forced her to reduce her working hours because it affects her cognition and energy levels. She said she would give up PIP if she could return to the health and working capacity she had five years ago.
Reform’s Welfare Proposals Raise Concerns Over Poverty
Reform says existing claimants whose conditions are not related to mental health would be protected from reassessment for three years. For people who qualify under the new arrangements, or for less severe cases, direct payments could be replaced with council-run Disability Support Accounts that reimburse approved expenses.
The proposals come after an interim review led by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms found that the existing PIP system was “not fit for purpose”. According to The Independent, the review said many applicants described the assessment process as “dehumanising” and “degrading”, while claimants increasingly use the payment to cover basic living costs rather than disability-specific expenses alone. PolicyEngine modelling cited in the report estimated that abolishing PIP would push 884,000 people into poverty. The article also reported that removing the health-related element of Universal Credit from all 2.5 million recipients would likely more than double that figure.
Charlotte Gill, head of campaigns at the MS Society, said scrapping PIP could push more disabled people into poverty and worsen their health, potentially creating additional pressure on the NHS and social care. Labour has rejected Reform’s £50 billion savings estimate, describing it as “fantasy economics” based on withdrawing support from disabled people and transferring costs elsewhere.
