Liz Kendall unveils UK benefits cuts set to leave many sick and disabled worse off

Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, has faced down angry Labour MPs to unveil drastic cuts to the UK’s benefits system that will leave many sick and disabled claimants worse off.

The measures, which the government argues are needed to “fix the broken benefits system” and balance the nation’s books, are expected to cut £5bn from the benefits bill.

The work and pensions secretary announced to MPs on Tuesday that as part of the package her department would spend up to £1bn a year extra on helping people back into jobs, with plans ranging from supportive calls to intensive training programmes.

But Labour MPs have voiced deep concerns over the cuts, under which only the most severely disabled will be able to claim personal independent payments (Pips), the key disability benefit that is not linked to work.

The eligibility criteria will be tightened so that people will need to score four points in at least one activity to qualify for the daily living allowance, hitting about 1 million people but saving billions for the government.

A green paper, published alongside Kendall’s statement, will set out plans to consult on frequent reassessments of Pip claimants, although the most severely disabled are expected not to have to be reassessed. The unpopular workplace capability assessment will be scrapped by 2028.

The basic rate of universal credit for those looking for – or in – work will rise from April 2026, but the incapacity benefit will be cut for new claimants judged as unfit for work. Existing claimants will retain the same level of support, with an additional premium for those with severe lifelong conditions meaning they will never work.

There will also be a new “right to work” scheme for those on incapacity benefits so they can try to return to work without risking losing their entitlements.

Kendall told MPs the benefits system was “failing the very people it is supposed to help and holding our country back” with one in 10 working age people now claiming sickness or disability benefit, and almost one million young people not in education, employment or training.

She said that spending on working age sickness and disability benefits was up £20bn since the pandemic, and set to rise by a further £18bn by the end of this parliament, to £70bn a year.

But she added: “There will always be people who can never work because of the severity of their disability or illness. Under this government, the social security system will always be there for people in genuine need. That is a principle we will never compromise on.

“But disabled people and people with health conditions who can work should have the same rights, choices and chances to work as everybody else.”