Emma

They say we can’t afford to support disabled people.
But they’ve found £73 billion to hand to private landlords between 2024 and 2029.
They claim they need to make £5 billion in “savings”, so they take it from disabled people instead of introducing rent caps or building council homes. #TakingthePIP

My Hot Take:

We don’t need to thank MPs for signing an amendment that stops disabled people being pushed further into poverty. That’s not allyship, that’s doing the bare minimum of their job.

If it takes public pressure for you to defend our rights, you're part of the problem.

Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament Current version of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill with latest news, sponsors, and progress through Houses

If passed, this Bill will push many disabled people out of the benefit system, not because their needs have changed, but because the law has.

The Bill: share.google/yjmeSVJKrQ6L...

#DisabilityRights #UniversalCredit #PIP #WelfareReform #TakingThePIP

This Bill narrows eligibility and freezes key support rates. It does not improve assessments, increase diagnostic access, or provide additional help. It simply lowers the threshold for entitlement and reduces real-term income for disabled people.

There is some transitional protection, but it is very limited. Existing PIP claimants will retain their award until reassessment. If they fail only due to the 4-point rule, they’ll keep their award for 13 weeks. After that, the support ends.

Under current rules, someone scoring 2 points in 4 different activities qualifies for standard rate. Scoring 2 in 6 different activities qualities for enhanced rate. Under the new rules, they would get nothing.

PIP rules are changing too. To qualify for the daily living component, claimants will need to:

Score at least 8 points in total

Score at least 4 points in a single activity

This is a major shift from the current system.

Disability additions in ESA and UC, including the support component, work-related activity component, and severe and enhanced disability premiums—will be frozen from 2026 to 2030. This means they will lose value year on year due to inflation.

To get the higher LCWRA rate as a “severe conditions” claimant, you’ll need:

A descriptor that constantly applies for life

An NHS diagnosis

No consideration of private diagnosis or cumulative functional impact

The LCWRA rates from April 2026:

Pre-2026 claimants: £423.27 per month

Terminally ill: £423.27

“Severe conditions” claimants: £423.27

Everyone else: £217.26

Most new claimants will fall into the lower category unless they meet strict criteria.

Right now, all claimants with Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity get the same rate. From April 2026, most new claimants will get less than half the current amount.

From 2026 to 2030, the Universal Credit standard allowance will increase each year by CPI plus a fixed uplift (e.g. 2.3 percent in 2026–27). But the government has suspended its legal duty to review whether these rates are actually enough to meet people’s needs.

Thread: The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. Here’s a breakdown of what it does.

In April I submitted an FOI request to DWP asking how disabled people can access forms and communication by email.

They missed the deadline. Then ignored the internal review request.

It’s now with the ICO.

#DisabilityRights #FOI #AccessToWork #PIP #DWP #ReasonableAdjustments #EqualityAct

Freedom of Information Request: PIP Core Training and Guidance (TAG) Materials on Fibromyalgia and Long Covid - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Work and Pensions Dear Department for Work and Pensions, I am making a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please provide the following information: A copy of the most recent PIP Core Training and Gui...

DWP has released internal PIP & WCA training docs on Fibromyalgia & Long Covid after an FOI request.

They’ve redacted parts under Section 31 (crime prevention).

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/free...

#DisabilityRights #FOI #PIP #WCA #LongCovid #Fibromyalgia #WelfareReform #DWP

Access to Work have refused my reconsideration, again by post, despite requesting email. I sent medical evidence. I work for a DPO. Their own assessor backed support. Still refused. This scheme is failing disabled people. I’m exhausted. And I know I’m not the only one. #AccessToWork #AtW

Labour reveals £1bn plan to replace household support fund for poorest families Labour laid out plans to spend £1bn a year replacing the household support fund with a new crisis and resilience fund at the spending review.

This is not a coherent anti-poverty strategy. It is crisis management.

Calling it “resilience” suggests the problem is people not coping, rather than a broken system pushing people into poverty in the first place.

This is not resilience. It is survival.

www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Can we talk about the fact the gov wants to scrap a benefit that’s existed for over 100 years?

New Style ESA & JSA are based on NI contributions. They're being replaced by short-term insurance. Not if, just how short. A quiet attack on workers' rights.
#WelfareNotWarfare #WorkersRights

Digital protest poster with a soft pastel gradient background blending light blue, lavender, and pink. On the left-hand side is a large 3D-style purple and silver megaphone, with a coiled, shiny ribbon emerging from it on the right. The text is in black. The layout is split into clear sections. Headline (top left): “Missing the March, Not the Movement.” (Bold black text) Main event info (centre-right): “12pm on Saturday 7th June 2025” (Bold black text) “If you can’t join the People’s Assembly protest in London on 7 June at 12pm, take part in the online protest from wherever you are.” (Smaller black text) Body text (bottom centre): “You can make a difference by amplifying your voice on social media, sharing banners, art, stories, and data, while championing disability rights and welfare changes. Don’t forget these hash tags:” Hashtags (in bold black text): #WelfareNotWarfare | #TakingThePIP | #StopTheCuts | #TaxTheRich | #DisabilityRebellion

Missing the March, Not the Movement. Join the online protest on 7 June 2025 at 12pm if you can’t attend in London. Post about disability rights and welfare cuts using #WelfareNotWarfare #TakingThePIP #StopTheCuts #TaxTheRich #DisabilityRebellion

DWP released new PIP assessor training on ME/CFS—but redacted over 40 pages on due to possible benefit fraud.
Review requested.

No updated training for Fibro or Long Covid either. Transparency matters.
FOI: www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/3023...

#ME #CFS #DWP #PIP #HAAS #training

White background with the text: Apathy Is Not Neutral – It’s Part of the Problem We’re facing devastating cuts to disability benefits. This will push hundreds of thousands into poverty, stripping away support that keeps people afloat. If you’re not disabled, but you know someone who is – a friend, a colleague, a family member – this affects them. And if you stay silent, it affects you too. Apathy isn’t harmless. It gives permission for injustice to carry on unchecked. Please don’t look away. Take 5 minutes to: Sign a petition Email your MP (we’ve made it easy) Join the campaign Everything you need is here: https://bit.ly/m/Stop-the-cuts Silence helps no one. Solidarity changes everything.

Apathy isn’t harmless. It gives permission for injustice to carry on unchecked.

Sign the petitions, email your MP, join the Mass Lobby.

bit.ly/m/Stop-the-c...

Petition: Abandon DWP Pathways to Work Green Paper & create National Disability Strategy The DWP Green Paper Pathways to Work proposes what we think are devastating cuts to disability benefits. We think the Government must drop these proposals and instead begin a process of co-production ...

This is not just another petition. It's an official UK Government petition — at 10,000 signatures they must respond, at 100,000 it must be considered for debate. Let's speak out, together.
#DisabilityRights #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

Resharing to encourage more to sign!

Petition: Abandon DWP Pathways to Work Green Paper & create National Disability Strategy The DWP Green Paper Pathways to Work proposes what we think are devastating cuts to disability benefits. We think the Government must drop these proposals and instead begin a process of co-production ...

The DWP’s ‘Pathways to Work’ Green Paper proposes devastating cuts to disability benefits. This isn’t support — it’s coercion. We need a system built with disabled people, not imposed on them. Sign the official petition today
#ScrapTheGreenPaper

Promotional graphic for an online event by Sheffield ME & Fibromyalgia Group featuring Dr Michelle Bull from Physios for ME as the guest speaker. The event is scheduled for May 20, 2025, from 2:15 PM to 3:15 PM, following the group's Annual General Meeting. The banner includes a photo of Dr Bull, who is described as a Chartered Physiotherapist and NHS Transformation Manager. The talk will focus on improving local services using national and international best practices, with a special mention of physiotherapy. The image includes registration details (bit.ly/SMEFG-AGM-2025) and logos for Physios for ME, Sheffield ME & Fibromyalgia Group, and ME Local Groups Network UK. A summary highlights Dr Bull’s extensive experience with ME and Long Covid, her co-authorship of a physiotherapy guide, and her leadership in the Frailty Academy at Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. Website: www.sheffieldmegroup.co.uk.

Join us at Sheffield ME & Fibro Group’s AGM with guest speaker Dr Michelle Bull (Physios for ME), sharing insights incl. Norway’s ME/Long Covid conference.
🕒 2:15pm start (Zoom opens 2:05pm)
Register: bit.ly/SMEFG-AGM-2025
#MEcfs #LongCovid #Physiotherapy

Join us at Sheffield ME & Fibro Group’s AGM with guest speaker Dr Michelle Bull (Physios for ME), sharing insights incl. Norway’s ME/Long Covid conference.
🕒 2:15pm start (Zoom opens 2:05pm)
Register: bit.ly/SMEFG-AGM-2025
#MEcfs #LongCovid #Physiotherapy

Second wave of cuts could lead to ‘decimation’ of Access to Work scheme, but DWP refuses to comment The Labour government has launched a new cost-cutting drive aimed at Access to Work, which insiders fear could destroy the scheme and lead to disabled people being forced to quit their jobs. Leaked…

If Access to Work is cut, small charities lose staff. Communities lose vital services.

📊 26% of charity workers are disabled
💸 34% of small charities have no reserves
🌍 £20bn+ social value at risk

It’s not saving — it’s sacrifice.

#AccessToWork #SmallCharities #Inclusion #AtW #VoluntarySector

The DWP has tried to hide major changes to a grant scheme for disabled people A whistleblower has exposed DWP plans for changes to the Access to Work scheme - ones that it hasn't made public yet

The very thing the government claims to want — pushing more disabled people into employment — is undermined by their own actions.

#AccessToWork #DWP #Disability

www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...

Petition: Abandon DWP Pathways to Work Green Paper & create National Disability Strategy The DWP Green Paper Pathways to Work proposes what we think are devastating cuts to disability benefits. We think the Government must drop these proposals and instead begin a process of co-production ...

The Green Paper ignores lived experience, data, and rights. It's time for change. A National Disability Strategy must be co-produced, cross-government, and rights-based.
Join the call

#NationalDisabilityStrategy #HumanRights

Petition: Abandon DWP Pathways to Work Green Paper & create National Disability Strategy The DWP Green Paper Pathways to Work proposes what we think are devastating cuts to disability benefits. We think the Government must drop these proposals and instead begin a process of co-production ...

A benefits system should offer security, dignity, and choice — not threats and sanctions. Disabled people deserve better. Demand a system shaped with us, not against us.
Sign and share:
#InclusionMatters #StopBenefitCuts