Key facts
- Reform UK plans to cut £50bn annually from the welfare bill.
- Nearly 3 million people could have disability and sickness payments modified or withdrawn.
- The party proposes abolishing personal independence payments (Pip) and the health element of Universal Credit for working-age adults.
- A new health security allowance would support those deemed "gravely ill and severely challenged."
- Disability support accounts run by local councils would replace cash payments for low-level conditions.
Reform UK has announced plans for a significant overhaul of the welfare system, aiming to achieve annual savings of £50 billion. The proposals, detailed by the party's treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick, would involve reassessing and potentially reducing or withdrawing disability and sickness payments for approximately 3 million individuals.
Jenrick described the current welfare state as driven by "suicidal empathy" and claimed it fails to adequately support recipients. Under the proposed reforms, personal independence payments (Pip) and the health element of Universal Credit for working-age adults would be abolished. Jenrick noted that nearly 7 million people receive disability benefits, with a significant increase in claims related to mental health and behavioural conditions.
The plan includes introducing a new, regularly reviewed health security allowance for those deemed "gravely ill and severely challenged." For lower-level conditions, cash payments would be replaced by disability support accounts managed by local councils, intended to cover essential costs like equipment and transport. Employers might also be required to provide "return to work cover" insurance for employees on sick leave, creating an economic incentive to facilitate their return to work.
After two years of absence from work, individuals would undergo a rigorous in-person assessment to filter out "vexatious and fraudulent claims." Jenrick acknowledged the reforms would not be "painless," estimating that while 2.16 million existing claimants would retain their full cash entitlement, 2.89 million would see modifications or withdrawals, particularly where claims have seen recent rapid growth.
Conservative MP Helen Whately criticized the proposals, suggesting they were a distraction from an ongoing investigation into a donation to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. She also pointed out Reform's perceived inconsistency on welfare reform issues. A Labour spokeswoman dismissed the £50 billion savings target as "fantasy economics" that would negatively impact disabled people and shift costs to employers.