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PIP Changes Impact on Carer’s Allowance 2025-03-27
27 March 2025
Lead MP
Steve Darling
Debate Type
Urgent Question
Tags
No tags
Other Contributors: 27
At a Glance
Steve Darling raised concerns about pip changes impact on carer’s allowance 2025-03-27 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
Will the Minister confirm that the upcoming changes to PIP will impact carers who receive Carer's Allowance, and address concerns about the immediate and long-term impacts on these individuals?
Torbay
Question
The changes will result in substantial cuts to Carer’s Allowance, affecting approximately 150,000 carers and removing £500 million from their support. Is the Government committed to a managed and compassionate approach?
Minister reply
We are taking a phased and careful approach with no immediate impact on current recipients for over 18 months. The changes will not affect individuals until their next review period, typically three years after November 2026, ensuring these reforms are not rushed.
Hendon
Question
Does the Minister agree that sustaining welfare requires careful management?
Minister reply
Absolutely. Spending on PIP has increased by £10 billion over five years, necessitating reforms to ensure long-term sustainability without resorting to means-testing or freezing benefits as previously proposed.
Danny Kruger
Con
East Wiltshire
Question
Is Carer’s Allowance a deliberate target of Government cuts and did they anticipate the impact on carers?
Minister reply
The Conservative party's plan included converting PIP to vouchers, which was rejected. The current approach aims for sustainability through targeted reforms, consulting widely including specific references to unpaid carers.
Meg Hillier
Lab/Co-op
Hackney South and Shoreditch
Question
What measures will the Government take to communicate clearly about these changes?
Minister reply
The Green Paper is clear, with accessible versions due by early next month. We aim for a 12-week consultation period ensuring all voices are heard and properly considered.
Desmond Swayne
Con
New Forest West
Question
Does the Minister agree that cutting benefits is like taking pocket money from children?
Minister reply
The comparison was controversial. The focus is on ensuring PIP remains sustainable, thereby providing long-term support for those who need it most.
North East Fife
Question
The Minister referred to how the earnings limit for carer’s allowance has increased, but there is still a cliff edge. Are the Government planning to bring forward plans to link the earnings limit to the 16 hours of employment at the national minimum wage?
Minister reply
Yes, the earnings threshold will in future be set at 16 times the hourly rate of the national living wage, and that will continue indefinitely. In addition, the Chancellor announced in the Budget last year that we will look at the idea of an income taper in carer’s allowance to replace the cliff edge, which, as the hon. Member rightly says, is a feature of it at the moment. We are looking at that assessment.
Battersea
Question
The Conservatives broke our social security system and created a hostile environment for disabled people. May I press him again to think about how we ensure that we support ill and disabled people as we fix the mess that the Tories have created?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that we were left with a broken system. We will invest substantial sums, rising to £1 billion a year by the end of the Parliament, in supporting people who are out of work on health and disability grounds into work, and I very much look forward to working with her in that endeavour.
Bob Blackman
Con
Harrow East
Question
I have been contacted by carers in my constituency who are scared about what will happen to them and the people they care for. What message does the Minister have for those who look after very vulnerable people and cannot leave them alone, and who cannot work?
Minister reply
Given his description of the people being cared for, they will continue to receive personal independence payments. Once the changes have taken effect from November next year, those who do not score at least four points on any of the 10 daily living activities that the benefit conditions set out will not be eligible for personal independence payments. I would need to look at the particular cases that the hon. Gentleman has in mind, but I imagine that people who are caring for very vulnerable individuals will continue to receive necessary support.
Chi Onwurah
Lab
Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West
Question
Could the Minister confirm that nobody on PIP will be impacted by them until November 2026 at the earliest? In the meantime, I will be working with disabled groups in my constituency to understand the impact on individuals.
Minister reply
The consultation is under way, and it will run for a full 12 weeks from the time when all the accessible versions of the Green Papers are published, which will be in early April. I would be very grateful if she encouraged the organisations that she is working with to respond to that consultation, and I would also be very interested to hear and see her response to it.
Seamus Logan
SNP
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East
Question
Does Labour’s promise not lie in tatters? What will it take for the Government to change course before irreversible harm is done?
Minister reply
Let me make it clear that spending on personal independence payment will continue to increase above inflation. It will not increase as fast as it would have done if we had done nothing, but the advantage is that the funding for that benefit will be sustainable and that is vital because so many people depend on it.
Calder Valley
Question
Can the Minister please give me a categorical assurance that the consultation on these measures is genuine, and that the Government will ensure that the responses of disabled people and of disability rights campaigns such as Scope will be given the weight they deserve?
Tom Hayes
Lab
Bournemouth East
Question
Will the Minister reassure my constituents that the Government are truly listening to our concerns and are committed to closing the disability employability gap?
Minister reply
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing his experience to this debate. I can absolutely give him the reassurance he seeks.
Siân Berry
Green
Brighton Pavilion
Question
Does the Minister agree that proceeding with the plans is not acceptable when there is a level of harm, as indicated by an estimated 20% of families reporting someone with a disability in the household?
Minister reply
The assessment published yesterday is that 90% of those receiving the daily living PIP component will continue to receive that benefit after the changes take effect, so I think the concern that the hon. Lady raises is not entirely appropriate.
Daniel Francis
Lab
Bexleyheath and Crayford
Question
Will the Minister consider whether we need a plan across Government Departments to identify the support available to ensure that carers can work, and that they and their loved ones do not fall into poverty?
Minister reply
I am working with the Minister for Care in the Department of Health and Social Care on this. I agree with my hon. Friend that we need to work across Government on these issues.
Ann Davies
PC
Caerfyrddin
Question
How many more unpaid carers in Wales will be pushed into hardship due to losing their entitlement to carer’s allowance?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady will have gathered, the impact assessment was published yesterday. The figures are there for everybody to see, and the impacts are across the UK.
Deirdre Costigan
Lab
Ealing Southall
Question
Can the Minister confirm that the most disabled people will be protected; that he is consulting on a new higher rate of universal credit for those who are most severely disabled?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend for her work on disability employment, which has been an important contribution. I can give the reassurances she seeks.
Tom Gordon
LD
Harrogate and Knaresborough
Question
What consideration has the Minister given to conditions such as Crohn’s and colitis in the context of these cuts?
Minister reply
It is very important that the system properly handles fluctuating conditions. One of the benefits of the proposal in the Green Paper to record by default PIP assessments is that we will be able to provide better assurance that the assessments get these judgments right, particularly in the case of fluctuating conditions.
Andrew Pakes
Lab
Peterborough
Question
Can my right hon. Friend assure the House that the record amount of employment support will address the issue of flexibility to support sick and disabled people into some form of work?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I join him in paying tribute to organisations such as JobSmart in his constituency.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
How will the Government put in place greater support for those who have to battle recognised illnesses and live—not just survive—in this pressure-filled world?
Minister reply
Our proposals fully protect the personal independence payments of those with the most severe impairments. I think those are the people that he is concerned about, and they are fully protected under these plans.
Matt Western
Lab
Warwick and Leamington
Question
What will happen to a constituent who is a carer but now suffers from long covid and would be due PIP?
Minister reply
An assessment will be carried out by a properly trained health professional. If the person to whom my hon. Friend refers scores more than four points on any one of the 10 daily living activities, they will be eligible for personal independence payment, as at present.
Aylesbury
Question
Will the Minister share how that £1 billion-a-year support package will help those who can work get into work?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We will be working with disabled people over the next few months on the plans for how that commitment should be taken forward.
Adam Jogee
Lab
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Question
The Member expresses concerns about the impact assessment and requests a meeting with the Minister to discuss the concerns of his constituents regarding welfare reforms. He asks for a commitment from the Minister to address these issues.
Minister reply
I will gladly meet my hon. Friend and look forward to discussing both the concerns of his constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme and those he has raised.
Johanna Baxter
Lab
Paisley and Renfrewshire South
Question
The Member welcomes the Minister's commitment to improving the experience of people going through the assessment process but asks for more information on how claimant experiences will be improved, particularly for vulnerable individuals.
Minister reply
Key proposals in the Green Paper include default recording of assessments so that when something goes wrong, we can check back and see what happened. This change aims to ensure that claimants are recognised accurately during assessments.
Chris Vince
Lab/Co-op
Harlow
Question
The Member highlights the critical role of young carers in supporting those they care for, as well as their importance to the economy. He asks whether the Minister will consider the impact of welfare reforms on young carers and how better support can be provided.
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the needs of young carers; I have spoken to young people who started caring in primary school years. We need to speed things up to recognise them sooner.
John Slinger
Lab
Rugby
Question
The Member acknowledges the excellent work of Jobcentre Plus in supporting people into work and asks for confirmation that the package of employment support announced is one of the biggest ever amounts of money to give disabled people and those with long-term conditions the help they need.
Minister reply
Absolutely, it is. The beneficiaries will be people like those my hon. Friend described who are in need of substantial employment support.
Laurence Turner
Lab
Birmingham Northfield
Question
The Member thanks the Minister for engaging constructively and asks about two specific matters: whether terms of reference for a PIP assessment review will be made public, and if there is a case for looking again at PIP criteria. He also requests continued engagement during the consultation period.
Minister reply
I will be very glad to put the terms of reference for that work into the public domain. It is high time we had another look at the indicators used in the current personal independence payment assessment.
Government Response
Government Response
The Government is consulting on changes to PIP eligibility as outlined in the 'Pathways to Work' Green Paper. These changes aim to focus support on those with severe conditions, while providing transitional protections for current claimants who may lose eligibility under new criteria, including Carer’s Allowance and the Universal Credit carer element. The policy will be implemented from November 2026 onwards, ensuring a staged approach that does not immediately affect current recipients until their next award review post-November 2026. Emphasis is placed on sustainability to ensure long-term support for those most in need.
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