Sir Keir planned to make cuts to disability and sickness-related payments for existing and future claimants.
But after a wave of Labour MPs rebelled against the proposals and signed an amendment hoping to block the reforms, the PM announced the cuts will now only apply to new claimants.
FactCheck takes a look.
What was the government planning with PIP and Universal Credit – and what are the new changes?
The government wanted to cut disability and sickness-related benefits payments to save £5 billion by 2030.
It planned to do so by making changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit.
PIP is paid to people who have a long-term physical or mental health condition in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and has two elements to it – a daily living component and a mobility component.
The government proposed tightening the assessment for the daily living part by requiring applicants to score at least four points for one activity instead of qualifying for support across a broad range of tasks.
The PIP assessment asks questions about tasks such as preparing and eating food, washing and getting dressed. Each of these tasks is scored from least to most difficult from 0 to either 6, 8, 10 or 12 depending on the category.
The government’s original plans were meant to affect existing and new PIP claimants. But the u-turn means that these changes will now only apply to people who make a claim after November 2026.
For Universal Credit, claimants that have a limited capacity to work because of a disability or long term condition get a top-up payment as part of their benefits entitlement.
But those who start claiming from November next year will see this top-up fall from £97 per week in 2025-26 to £50 a week by 2026-27, before then being frozen until the end of 2029-30.
The higher rate for existing health-related claimants was to be frozen for the same period, but the government’s u-turn means this change now won’t apply to existing claimants.
What about the £5 billion planned savings?
The Institute for Financial Studies (IFS) said that the initial benefit reforms would have saved the government £5.5 billion by 2029-30, but the revised package of reforms will now save only £2.5 billion.
Asked how this would be paid for, health minister Stephen Kinnock told Times Radio: “The full details around what we are laying out, what I’ve summarised really today, is going to be laid out in Parliament, and then the Chancellor will set out the budget in the autumn the whole of the fiscal position and this will be an important part of that.
“But forgive me, I’m not in a position to set those figures out now. I think that is very much the Chancellor’s job as we move into the budget in the autumn.”
Why did Labour MPs rebel over government disability plans?
At least 127 Labour MPs had signed an amendment to give them the opportunity to vote on a proposal to reject the government’s plans, stating the number of people the plans are expected to push into poverty among reasons they oppose the plans.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell, who signed the amendment, said in the House of Commons that “half of MPs reject the Universal credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill” because “we have spoken to our constituents and organisations representing disabled people who reject the Bill because it will cause harm to disabled people and their voices have not been heard, as much as we are trying to amplify them in this place”.
Why are the rebels still split on the plans?
The Labour chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Dame Meg Hillier, who was one of those criticising the government’s original plans, has welcomed the latest revisions.
“This is a positive outcome that has seen the government listen and engage with the concerns of Labour MPs and their constituents,” she said. “It’s encouraging that we have reached what I believe is a workable compromise that will protect disabled people and support people back into work while ensuring the welfare system can be meaningfully reformed.”
But, after the changes were announced, backbencher Nadia Whittome told Channel 4 News: “This is something that everybody should be worried about because any of us could become disabled at any point in our lives.
We’re all just one car crash or cancer diagnosis away from being in this position. And that’s the whole point of the welfare state – is that it’s meant to be there to catch you when you need it.
This Bill doesn’t do that… It doesn’t support the hundreds of thousands of people who will at some point in the future be disabled but won’t be able to access the same level of support as people now.”
A spokesperson for Number 10 said: “We have listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the system.
“This package will preserve the social security system for those who need it by putting it on a sustainable footing, provide dignity for those unable to work, supports those who can and reduce anxiety for those currently in the system.”
(Image credit: Thomas Krych/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock)