What does the Pathways to Work green paper actually mean, who might be affected, how much could they lose, what are the good and worrying bits of planned changes to support & assessments? A long 🧵 ...
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One issue concerning me is profit in assessments. Incentivising removing benefits, no penalty to PLC for lost appeals and they lose vast majority.
Assessment should go back to GPs. I'd rather they got money than a PLC.
Massive cuts:
2. Carers likely to lose out too: 1.4 million get Carers Allowance - £4,258.80 a year. 55% awards linked to PIP. 28% of carers are also disabled, around 150,000 unpaid carers receive both Carer’s Allowance and PIP. @carers-uk.bsky.social
Massive cuts:
3. Freezes & cuts to Universal Credit health element: Current claimants lose £280 a year in 2029-30. New claimants receive £2500 less a year. @theifs.bsky.social
4. Under 22s likely lose all access to PIP and the health element. They'll also get much less help with housing costs.
Massive cuts:
4. Abolish Work Capability Assessment & use PIP assessment to determine access to health element of Universal Credit: 600,000 people who would otherwise qualify for the health element of UC but not PIP would be worse off by £2,400 per year. @theifs.bsky.social
Small boost to UC standard allowance
- Green paper says £7 a week. @jrf-uk.bsky.social calculated actually worth £3 a week from April 2026.
- 4.5 million families get £150 more a year in 2029-30. @theifs.bsky.social
- Significant acknowledgement UC too low & needs to rise to cover essentials.
Welcome improvements to employment support:
- Doubling investment in employment support to £1 billion
- ‘Right to try’ work guarantee
- End reassessments for people with very severe, life long conditions
- Overhaul DWP safeguarding
- PIP review & process improvements, working with disabled people
Sorry that wasn't said very clearly! They may lose UC health due to age change. Many may also lose PIP as part of broader changes & because they're disproportionately likely to have mental health conditions which new eligibility rules deprioritise. If lose PIP they lose additional help with rent.
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Assessment should go back to GPs. I'd rather they got money than a PLC.
1. PIP cut by £5 billion. @resfoundation.bsky.social estimates 800,000 - 1.2 million people losing £4,200 - £6,300 per year. (Through pretty arbitrary changes to eligibility: https://medium.com/@ayaz_manji/a-quick-blog-on-the-reforms-to-pip-announced-today-and-their-likely-impact-for-people-with-mental-f361aacf43f1
2. Carers likely to lose out too: 1.4 million get Carers Allowance - £4,258.80 a year. 55% awards linked to PIP. 28% of carers are also disabled, around 150,000 unpaid carers receive both Carer’s Allowance and PIP. @carers-uk.bsky.social
3. Freezes & cuts to Universal Credit health element: Current claimants lose £280 a year in 2029-30. New claimants receive £2500 less a year. @theifs.bsky.social
4. Under 22s likely lose all access to PIP and the health element. They'll also get much less help with housing costs.
4. Abolish Work Capability Assessment & use PIP assessment to determine access to health element of Universal Credit: 600,000 people who would otherwise qualify for the health element of UC but not PIP would be worse off by £2,400 per year. @theifs.bsky.social
- Green paper says £7 a week. @jrf-uk.bsky.social calculated actually worth £3 a week from April 2026.
- 4.5 million families get £150 more a year in 2029-30. @theifs.bsky.social
- Significant acknowledgement UC too low & needs to rise to cover essentials.
- Doubling investment in employment support to £1 billion
- ‘Right to try’ work guarantee
- End reassessments for people with very severe, life long conditions
- Overhaul DWP safeguarding
- PIP review & process improvements, working with disabled people