DWP set to 'halve' Universal Credit payments despite 'grave concerns'

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The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed a cut to the Universal Credit health component will kick in next spring. The move from the DWP comes despite "grave concerns", according to Disability Rights UK. The charity is concerned that planned cuts to the health component of Universal Credit (UCHE) will push disabled people into poverty despite an above inflation rise in the UC standard allowance. Under planned reforms to UC health, from April 2026 although all existing claimants and new claimants with severe or terminal conditions will be protected, other claimants assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity will see their awards halved from £423.27 to £217.26. READ MORE New 10mph speed limit in England 'for next six months' with drivers warned Committee Chair Debbie Abrahams said: “The Government’s own analysis published in March indicates that from next April approximately 50,000 people who develop a health condition or become disabled – and those who live with them - will enter poverty by 2030 as a result of the reduction in support of the UC health premium. “We recommend delaying the cuts to the UC-health premium, especially given that other policies that such as additional NHS capacity, or employment support, or changes in the labour market to support people to stay in work, have yet to materialise.” In its response the DWP restates argument that the cuts, are necessary to address “'perverse incentives” in the system. It said: “The Universal Credit Act, which received Royal Assent on 3 September 2025, legislated for the first ever sustained, above inflation increase to the standard allowance, benefiting millions of people. It added: This change, along with a reduction in the universal credit health element for new claimants, addresses perverse incentives in the universal credit system and better encourages those who can work to enter or return to employment. "An updated Impact Assessment for the Bill was published in July 2025. The new, lower universal credit health element will take effect on 6 April 2026.” Select Committee Chair, Debbie Abrahams MP, said: “… the Committee report raised outstanding concerns that from April 2026, people with a new disability or health condition will receive half the financial support on UC Health, £54 per week, compared with someone with the same impairment or condition in March 2026, who will receive £105 per week. ”This is not only discriminatory, but without mitigations, will potentially push more people with disabilities and health conditions into poverty, exacerbating their condition and pushing them further away from the labour market.'”