Richmond, Kingston &
West London M.E. Group

WINTER BENEFITS UPDATE 

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UNIVERSAL CREDIT

The health element of UC (i.e. the additional amount you receive by virtue of being assessed as having ‘limited capability for work-related activity’ (LCWRA) ) is being drastically reduced for new claimants from 6 April 2026. Existing claimants will continue to receive the higher amount. The UC health element is currently £97 per week; for new claimants from next April it will be £50 per week.

Disability Rights UK have produced a detailed explanation of the cuts and the deadlines for avoiding them DRUK - UC health element cuts: when to act  

- If you're making a new claim for UC and want to apply for the health element at the same time, your last day for counting as an existing claimant and qualifying for the higher rate was 5 January 2026.

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- If you're an existing UC claimant but have not previously reported a health condition and now wish to do so, timing is more complicated. The deadline for counting as an existing claimant for the purpose of the health element depends on the timing of your monthly assessment payment period (MAP). To work out your deadline for informing the DWP of the change in health and requesting an assessment, you must find out the first day of your MAP that includes the 5 April 2026 final deadline, then count back three months. If you find this confusing, report your health condition and get a fit note to the DWP as soon as possible. 

 

- If you're an existing UC claimant and have already been found to have limited capacity for work (no extra money) but not limited capacity for work-related activity (which would entitle you to the health element) and your condition has deteriorated, you need to report your deterioration and request a review by the end of the MAP that includes 5 April 2026. 

 

You will need a work capability assessment (WCA) but it does not matter if this has not taken place by 6 April. The DWP have stated that anyone who has applied for the health element of UC in time will be treated as an existing claimant and will therefore be entitled to the higher amount if, when they eventually have their WCA, they are found to have LCWRA. Payments for those who are successful will be backdated.

 

Note that if you leave the social security system and later need to return to it, you will be considered a new claimant, unless you stopped receiving UC as a result of increased earnings and then return to payment within six months. Returning to UC after 6 months

 

DWP DELAYS: EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE (ESA) AND UC ON GROUNDS OF ILL-HEALTH

Very few WCAs have been carried out for some time, and priority has been given to new claimants. As of August 2025, about 110,000 existing claimants were awaiting a WCA. WCA delays  In October 2025, Work and Pensions Minister Sir Stephen Timms stated that additional assessors had been recruited to deal with the backlog and that he expected ‘most’ of this backlog to be cleared within six months. (See DWP response FO12025/96423 dated 16/10/2025)

Not prioritised as new claimants are people previously found to have LCW (a status that has brought in no extra money for claims from April 2017) but who have deteriorated since their WCA and have requested reassessment. Many of these have been waiting a very long time.  The DWP say they are aware of, and seeking to remedy, this situation  WCA supersessions

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PIP REVIEW DELAYS

There is also a large backlog of outstanding PIP award reviews. Last year, it was estimated that at present rates the backlog could take almost ten years to clear PIP review backlog  You may, at the time your review is due, get a letter from the DWP telling you that your current award has been extended by a year; some people have received such a letter more than once.  You will continue to receive PIP while awaiting your review – but as with UC and ESA, this situation is hard on people whose condition has deteriorated and who on review would hope to be awarded a higher rate.

 

Note on PIP reviews: you need to give as much detail as you did on your original application. The review form (form AR1) was altered in November 2024: the old form asked mainly about changes in your needs, while the new one looks more like the form (PIP2) on which you made your initial claim.  The main difference is that you are given much less space for your answers on the AR1 than you had on the PIP2. Ignore the small spaces if you have a lot to say. Write: “See attached page no. [whatever]” in the box and attach a separate sheet to the form. It’s better to write the whole answer on the separate sheet rather than starting in the box and continuing with the same question on the additional sheet: this can be irritating to the reader.

 

ARE YOU STRUGGLING TO SET UP A UC ACCOUNT?

See youtube - set up UC account

 

FINANCIAL REVIEWS OF UC CLAIMANTS

Once you are on UC, your financial eligibility may be checked every few months. This does not mean you will be expected to undergo a new WCA but the DWP will require financial documentation, including 3-4 months of bank statements. Should you be concerned about privacy (bank statements will spell out your payees as well as amounts spent), consider making payments by credit card. 

 

PROPOSED REVAMPING OF PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENT (PIP) 

The Timms review of PIP was launched in October 2025 and is due to report in October 2026. The Timms Review is co-chaired by Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP,  Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE, and Sharon Brennan, both of the last two with experience of disability. There will also be a wider steering group composed of disabled people and representatives of Disabled People’s Organisations. See GOV.UK website.

It has, however, been made clear that there will be no additional funds for PIP, and that despite a language of ‘co-production’ with disabled people, final decisions will rest with the government. We wait to see what emerges...

 

CHANGES TO MOTABILITY RULES

Following November’s budget, certain brands of high-end cars will no longer be available to people who use their enhanced mobility PIP component to lease a vehicle, and certain tax reliefs will also no longer be available from next July. If you already have a vehicle on the scheme, nothing is changing until the end of your lease.

Disabled groups say there was no consultation with them from the government, and that many bigger and more premium cars are more suitable for severely disabled users. motability cuts

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