Pathways to Work
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department’s consultation entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, updated on 2 May 2025, on (a) the NHS and (b) local government services.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
No assessment has yet been made. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC are not coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
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