Reform UK has confirmed plans to cut Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spending, with a key protection for existing claimants. Robert Jenrick, the party’s Treasury spokesperson, announced the proposals at a press conference on Monday, outlining a three-year shield for non-mental-health Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants.
Three-Year Protection for Existing Claimants
Under the proposals, existing non-mental-health claimants would be protected from reassessment for three years. This means that those currently receiving PIP or Universal Credit (UC) Health payments for conditions other than mental health or trivial issues would not face immediate reassessment under the reformed system.
Reform also plans to overhaul the sick pay system, requiring employers to cover an employee’s benefit payments for the first two years of their illness. Additionally, the two-child benefit limit, which was scrapped by the Labour Party last year, would be reintroduced.
New PIP/HSA for Severe Cases
The reformed system would reserve cash support above standard Universal Credit rates for severe cases, delivered through a new Personal Independence Payment and Health Security Allowance (PIP/HSA). This would cover individuals with terminal illness, severe permanent physical disability, profound learning disability, severe autism with high support needs, severe enduring mental illness, major neurological disease, and serious brain injury.
It would also include those highly dependent on support for daily living, with irreversible or unlikely-to-improve conditions, or serious, unstable, or deteriorating conditions where prognosis, treatment burden, or safeguarding risk justified continued cash support. Claimants receiving this allowance would not face ordinary work requirements, though they could work if they choose.
Reassessment and Payment Details
Existing PIP and UC Health claimants with mental health or trivial conditions will be reassessed over a three-year period. If they meet the new severe, enduring, or high-risk gateway, they would retain the cash value of their existing UC and PIP awards, subject to uprating. Other claimants will only be brought into the reformed system after three years at the earliest, by which time they will already face reassessment.
New claimants with severe conditions would receive a single flat rate payment of £429.80 a month at 2026/27 rates, equivalent to the higher LCWRA element. A single claimant aged 25 or over would therefore receive £854.70 a month through standard UC and this payment, before housing, child, carer, or other relevant elements. New claimants would also be eligible for a Disability Support Account to cover verifiable additional costs, while existing claimants retaining protected cash would not receive this in addition.
Mr Jenrick stated that the most vulnerable needs would be protected, and the party has said disabled people could claim for genuine extra costs. However, he could not specify how much these payments would be or how those costs would be assessed.
