Universal Credit Bill Will Have A “Devastating” Impact on Disabled People and Their Families: New Citizens Advice Report
However, a new Citizens Advice report highlights that the Universal Credit (UC) Bill will create a two-tiered system of support, as people who qualify for UC health from the 6th of April 2026 will generally receive a lower rate of support.
In addition, says Citizens Advice, “it won’t help Disabled people into work, and people with severe, life-long conditions may miss out on protections.”
Moreover, it stresses that the policy explanations given for the changes are ill-thought out and “based on misconceptions”.
The UC bill will harm Disabled people as it cuts the value of the UC health addition from £423.26 to £217.26 a month for most new claimants. It also freezes the payment until 2029, so it won’t increase in line with inflation. This represents a further, real terms cut over time.
People who qualify for UC health from the 6th of April 2026 will be £3,000 a year worse off, on average, due to the UC bill. Applying the cuts to new claimants will create a two-tiered system of support, based on the date of somebody’s claim rather than their need. Over time, the incomes of Disabled people on UC health will diverge further and further.
According to the Bank of England predictions for the Consumer Price Index (CPI), by 2028/29 the combined annual value of the standard allowance and UC health will be £10,672 for protected claimants and £8,119 for new claimants.
The DWP itself has estimated 730,000 Disabled people will lose out financially due to the UC bill. This includes:
- People who become Disabled after the cut-off point
- People whose condition worsens over time
- People who lose UC health and must reapply
- Disabled children who become adults
Each of these groups will be worse off than claimants on the original rate of UC health, despite not having lower costs or less need for support.
Citizens Advice also highlights that: “The government has said that this bill will ‘rebalance’ Universal Credit. They argue that the big gap in income between somebody with, and without, UC health encourages more people to try and prove that they can’t work.
“This is seen as ‘trapping’ people on benefits. The government claims that by lifting the value of the standard allowance above inflation, and decreasing the value of UC health, people will be incentivised to work. This is wishful thinking.
“In reality, this bill will plunge more Disabled people into poverty, or deeper poverty. The uplift to the UC standard allowance isn’t large enough to offset cuts for Disabled people and isn’t the right way to encourage Disabled people into work. And despite assurances to the contrary, as it stands, the bill is likely to leave many seriously Disabled people without protection or support.”
As a result, Citizens Advice calls on the Government to:
- delay cuts to universal credit health until a thorough assessment of the policy and its potential impacts has been conducted
- provide greater clarity and legal protections within the severe conditions criteria to ensure it doesn’t exclude people with fluctuating conditions or those who may struggle to obtain a formal NHS diagnosis
- properly consult with Disabled people and their advocates in the Timms review of the personal independence payment assessment to ensure reforms are not solely driven by savings targets
The new Citizens Advice report Not so universal: How the Universal Credit Bill will create a two-tiered system for disabled people is available from citizensadvice.org.uk.
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