In March 2025, the Government published its Pathways to Work Green Paper, detailing plans to reform the welfare system. This included proposals to make substantial cuts to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and carers’ benefits.
Thanks to significant pressure from unpaid carers and disabled people, the Government had to make important changes to the proposed legislation, including removing aspects which would have seen 150,000 carers lose their benefits entitlements by the end of the decade.
On 1 July, during the Second Reading of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, Sir Stephen Timms MP, Minister for Social Security and Disability, confirmed that the Government would remove all provisions relating to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – and carers’ benefits – from the Bill. This means:
- There will be no changes to PIP or carers’ benefits as originally proposed
- Any future changes to PIP will only be introduced after Autumn 2026, and only once the Government’s full, co-produced review of PIP has been completed.
These were significant changes to the Bill, achieved through the vital campaigning of thousands of carers and disabled people who united against the proposed cuts to PIP.
You can read more about our #ProtectCarersBenefits campaign below.
The Universal Credit Bill
Due to the changes the Government had to make, the Bill was amended to become the Universal Credit Bill.
On 22 July, the Universal Credit Bill completed all stages in the House of Lords. It will now receive Royal Assent later in the year and be made into an Act of Parliament, becoming law.
What remains in the Bill?
The Bill still contains changes to the Universal Credit (UC) Standard Allowance and Limited Capacity for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA).
For new claimants of LCWRA, the Government will reduce the health element of UC by £47 per week (from £97 per week in 2024/25 to £50 per week in 2026/27). The rate of the health element of UC will also be frozen until 2029/30. This means that new claimants from April 2026 will receive half the amount of support that current claimants receive. We are very concerned about the significant impact these changes will have on unpaid carers and their families.
The Government will also increase the UC standard allowance by more than the rate of inflation for new and existing claimants every year until 2029/30, from April 2026.
What will Carers UK be doing next?
We will continue to work with disability organisations to challenge the changes the Government is making to Universal Credit.
We will also be engaging in full with the Government’s PIP review process. During the House of Lords debate on the Bill, the Government committed to including carers’ organisations in the review, so that the voices of unpaid carers will be heard in that process.
We will continue to advocate for a fair and supportive welfare system that recognises the challenges that unpaid carers face every day.
Carers UK has published a full policy briefing to help you better understand the current proposals. This will be regularly updated to reflect new developments.
You can read our statement responding to the Government’s changes and Spring Statement here.
Help and advice
We know that these changes will be concerning for many carers and their families. For information and advice, please visit:
Our Help and Advice pages
If you have any questions around the changes or need advice, please contact advice@carersuk.org or call our helpline on 0808 808 7777 (Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm).
About our #ProtectCarersBenefits campaign
When the Government published its Pathways to Work Green Paper in March, carers across the UK faced a threat to their benefits. The Government’s proposals to tighten eligibility criteria for PIP meant 150,000 unpaid carers risked losing their benefits entitlements by the end of the decade. For thousands of carers, this would have meant being pushed into deeper poverty.
That when our #ProtectCarersBenefits campaign began.
Thanks to your support and action, the Government has made significant changes to the Bill. Proposals relating to PIP were scrapped and crucial protections for carers and disabled people were secured.
What we achieved together
- Nearly 6000 of you signed our open letter to the Prime Minister, telling the Government that cuts to PIP and carers’ benefits could not go ahead.
- More than 1000 campaigners wrote to their MPs, urging them to take a stand and protect carers from cuts that would cause further hardship.
- Over 750 carers shared their stories through our survey, telling us how these changes would affect them.
- We brought MPs together outside Westminster, to show their support for #ProtectCarersBenefits
