Welfare cuts: What’s been happening with Pip and universal credit?

In March 2025, the government announced plans to tighten daily living assessments for both current and future Pip claimants.

However, after more than 120 Labour MPs threatened to vote against the legislation, the government said those already receiving Pip would not be affected.

The original proposals said that people with the highest levels of a permanent condition or disability would no longer have to be reassessed at all.

The assessments involve questions about everyday tasks, with each scored from zero, for no difficulty, to 12, for most difficulty.

For example, needing help to wash your hair, or your body below the waist scores two points, but needing help to wash between the shoulders and waist is worth four points.

The government said originally that anyone claiming Pip for the first time after November 2026 would have to score at least four points for a single activity, rather than across a range of different ones.

However, this change was delayed until the wider Timms review of Pip. The final report – which will include recommendations – is due in the autumn.

The cost of Pip is forecast to rise to more than £41bn by 2030. The cuts originally proposed by the government aimed to save about £5.5bn a year by the end of the decade.

However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and Resolution Foundation said the concessions made by the government meant it would make no “net savings” by 2029-30.