The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed it will proceed with implementing changes to the Universal Credit health element from April 2026, despite objections from a cross-party group of MPs.
The Work and Pensions committee put forward six recommendations in its third report examining the Get Britain Working: Pathways to Work green paper.
These proposals encompassed additional rises to the Universal Credit standard allowance throughout this Parliament's duration and postponing the Universal Credit health element reduction until "an independent and comprehensive assessment of the impact the change could have on disabled people" has been carried out, reports the Daily Record.
Nevertheless, in a written reply to the report, the DWP said: "The new, lower UC (Universal Credit) health element will take effect on April 6, 2026. We will keep standard allowance rates under review."
The department added: "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, benefitting millions of people. This change, along with a reduction in the UC health element for new claimants, addresses perverse incentives in the UC 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 DWP has previously said that nearly four million households will experience an annual income boost estimated to be worth £725 under the new Bill. The Universal Credit Act introduces reforms aimed at rebalancing the core payment and health top-up in Universal Credit.
The legislation will result in a permanent rise above inflation for the Universal Credit standard allowance, reaching £725 by 2029/30 in cash terms for a single person aged 25 or over.
Work and Pensions Committee Chair Debbie Abrahams commented on the UK Government's responses to the recommendations, stating: "We recognise the compromises the Government made during the passage of the Universal Credit-PIP Bill, now the Universal Credit Act."
She continued: "However, 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."
The MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth added: "Addressing this properly could be a fiscal bonus to the Government too. A recent analysis estimated that up to £12.5 billion could be saved in DWP spending from reduced Universal Credit health claims and boosted tax receipts before the end of the decade if the DWP focused on better, more personalised, employment and health support."
The Work and Pensions Committee's six recommendations, along with the UK Government's response, can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Measures in the Universal Credit ActThe DWP said rebalancing of Universal Credit health and standard elements to address the fundamental imbalance in the system which creates perverse incentives that drive people into dependency through:
The DWP said the reforms will address the 'fundamental imbalance in the system which creates perverse incentives that drive people into dependency'.
