Government publishes impact assessments on disability benefit cuts

The government published impact assessments on its disability benefit plans alongside the Spring Statement on 1 March 2025, setting out the effect of cuts to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and changes to incapacity benefit criteria. The assessments show the cuts will push 50,000 additional children into absolute poverty, and that one in five of all disabled people in the UK will see their income directly cut¹.

The charity Z2K, which advises people on benefits, said the cuts will see some disabled people lose over 60 per cent of their income, as a result of the combined effect of restrictions to PIP and changes to incapacity benefit criteria¹. It said the government has claimed that disabled people with the highest needs will be protected, but that its restrictions to PIP will mean some people assessed as the most severely disabled, those receiving the enhanced rate of PIP, see their support slashed¹. Evidence from Z2K's advice services suggests those who will lose out include double amputees, people with psychosis and stroke survivors¹.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast published the same day found the government does not have clear evidence that its plans will lead to more disabled people entering work, and that restricting eligibility for disability payments has repeatedly not generated reliable savings¹. Z2K said the forecast exposed the lack of evidence underpinning the proposals¹.

Z2K said 3 in 4 people who receive universal credit and disability benefits are already struggling to afford the essentials, and that the cuts will push more disabled people into destitution and drive up food bank use¹. It described the package as rushed, saying the Spring Statement announcement of eleventh-hour extra social security cuts underlined what was already clear¹.

Why it matters for households

The impact assessments cover people claiming PIP, including children and existing adult claims under Disability Living Allowance, and people assessed under incapacity benefit criteria. On the figures published, one in five disabled people in the UK would have their income directly cut, some by more than 60 per cent, and 50,000 additional children would fall into absolute poverty¹. The assessments were published on 1 March 2025; the sources do not set out the dates on which individual changes take effect, and no start date for the cuts has been reported here.

What happens next

Z2K is calling on MPs to raise concerns about the plans and has asked them to arrange meetings so it can share more information about the impact on disabled people in their constituencies¹. The briefing states that the government's child poverty strategy had not yet been published at the time of writing¹. No further parliamentary timetable for the plans is set out in the sources.