- Incentives that discourage work and trap people on benefits
to be removed via legislation coming into force today.
- Nearly £1 billion taxpayer money expected to be saved thanks
to measures to narrow the gap between payments for people on
health-related benefits and those actively seeking work.
- Comes alongside employment support package of £3.5 billion,
with 65,000 disabled people or those with health conditions
already given tailored help.
The system inherited from the previous Government encouraged more
people to stay on benefits without support to move into work.
Reforms coming into force today will change that, tackling
perverse incentives by introducing a lower Universal Credit
health element rate of £217.26 per month for new claimants,
compared to the higher rate of £429.80.
Those with the most severe, lifelong conditions, those nearing
end of life, and all existing Universal Credit health claimants
will continue to receive the higher rate.
Anyone affected by the changes to Universal Credit will be
entitled to voluntary employment support, with more than 65,000
people with limited capability for work and work-related activity
taking up the offer since March 2025 – exceeding the target.
And as the Government continues to bear down on the cost of
living, the changes will also see almost four million households
on the standard rate of Universal Credit receive a boost worth
around £295 extra this year in cash terms, around £110 above
inflation, for a single person aged 25 or over.
Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir said:
The welfare system we inherited has for too long locked disabled
people and people with long term conditions out of work.
Laws coming into force today will change that, reducing projected
expenditure on Universal Credit by almost £1 billion.
Simultaneously boosting the standard allowance and investing £3.5
billion in employment support means we're creating a welfare
system that backs people to work and helps them build a better
future.
From 8 April, customers with limited capability for work or
work-related activity will also see a new notification on their
Universal Credit account giving information on the support
available and allowing them to opt in to being contacted to find
out more about the support.
This will trigger a conversation with a Pathways to Work adviser,
who can offer personalised appointments and refer individuals to
programmes such as Connect to Work, WorkWell, or local
Trailblazer schemes.
The changes come alongside the £3.5 billion investment the
Government is making to help disabled people and those with
long-term health conditions move closer to the labour market,
offering personalised support aimed at improving employment and
living standards.
This includes the Connect to Work programme, which will provide
tailored help to 300,000 people over the next five years, and the
groundbreaking WorkWell programme, set to support a further
250,000 people to stay in or return to work.
With 2.7 million people on Universal Credit assessed as having
limited capability for work- and work-related activity, the
tailored employment support aims to open up opportunities and
remove barriers to work, rather than leave people stuck on
benefits.
Additional information
- Based in every Jobcentre across England, Wales and Scotland,
the advisers offer one-to-one support to people with Limited
Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA)
status - those who receive benefits without any requirement to
look for work
- The Act delivers the first sustained, above inflation uplift
to UC's standard
allowance. The four rates of standard allowance will rise above
the rate of inflation in each of the years from 2026/27 to
2029/30. From April 2026, monthly rates increase to:
- £338.58 – Single under 25
- £424.90 – Single 25+
- £528.34 – Couple under 25
- £666.97 – Couple 25+
- The previous system means that people receiving the Universal
Credit health top-up were paid more than twice as much as a
single person on the standard rate who is looking for work,
without any support to move into employment.
