Sickness & Disability Changes

Welcome to this new – and still developing – page on sickness and disability benefits.

These are vital benefits for people living with mental health challenges, and here we aim to keep you up to date with the emerging detail of changes that are actually happening. These start from April 2026 but are planned over the following couple of years as well.

Since the Autumn of 2023, there has been much talk – by the last Conservative and the current Labour Government – about making savings to these benefits. At the July 2024 Election, there was quite a difference in approach:

  • the Conservatives had plans ready to tighten up the Work Capability Assessment – to really cut down numbers getiing into the ESA Support or UC LCWRA groups and were flagging up a wide range of proposals to make cuts to PIP
  • Labour wanted smaller savings – mainly from measures to encourage moves off benefits for ‘sickness’ and into work, but PIP was to be left alone, until someone had the bright idea of a new “4-point” rule which led to an unexpected back bench revolt.

But if the gap between the main parties narrowed as the new Government took stock of the public finances, the Conservatives have shot off in a new direction. In very confused, vague and general plans, they seem to be fighting Reform UK for who can get the most savings on the back of a fag packet 😦 . The ir overall aim is to save £23 billion from the benefits budget with scant details as to how. However they are flagging up all their previous options for PIP and more and once again really targetting those with mental health issues. It seems the “nasty party” tendency is getting a bit feral…

So far, all these announcements, plans and often confused and ill-considered speeches and media coverage have created a climate of fear, anxiety and stigma for those dealing with health issues in their everyday lives. And those with mental health challenges in particular.

Many people may still be getting over:

  • the change from Incapacity Benefit/Income Support to Employment & Support Allowance – with all the upheaval of a new assessment of how health limits your ability to work – and re-assessments under the WCA ever since
  • the still to be completed change from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or ADP in Scotland – which again brings a new ESA-style points based system and medical reports to be undergone to retain or receive the benefit.

For the moment, despite all the noise, things are quiet in the practicalities of sickness and disability benefits as No NEW changes have yet happened.

Of course, many will have been going through a switch from ‘legacy benefits’ such as Income-related ESA and Housing Benefit over to Universal Credit (UC). A lot to get used to in UC’s new ways, BUT AT LEAST this time there is no need to go through any new health assessment. If one should come up do get advice (as they can happen “by mistake” . You can find a lot more about UC – both moving over to UC and if you are starting/already claiming UC – on our recently (September 2025) updated Universal Credit pages

And those UC pages have inspired these new pages on sickness and disability benefit changes ahead: to to keep you up to date with: What changes are going ahead? When? and How? (as more details emerge as they draw nearer). So far all is quiet …to quiet…but the first planned changes will kick off from April 2026

What’s the difference between sickness and disability benefits?

Politicians and journalists often muddle the two, so don’t blame yourself if you feel a bit confused. What these two sorts of benefits do have in common is that:

  • both are linked to health problems, although disability benefits are only relevant to long term ones
  • and many people do claim both a sickness benefit and a disability benefit. However they are outnumbered by those who only claim either a sickness benefit or a disability benefit.

Sickness benefits:

  • are about providing a basic income when you are too unwell to work.
  • They include non-means tested benefits like Statutory Sick Pay SSP (if you become unwell while working for an employer) and Contributory Employment and Support Allowance C-ESA ( if you have paid the right National Insurance contributions in recent years).
  • And if you cannot get either of those – or you can but need a top up – there are means tested benefits like Income-related ESA and Universal Credit. These look at your income and savings and you claim them jointly with any partner.
  • the assessment – as it has changed over the years – has always been about how your health issues limit your ability to work.
  • You are often allowed – and encouraged – to do some work as your health allows.
  • We cover the changes ahead to these benefits in Part A: Changes coming for Sickness Benefits

Disability benefits

  • are extra benefits that can be paid on top of any other benefits – including sickness benefits – or on top of full-time earnings
  • examples include Personal Independence Payment (PIP) , Adult Disability Payment (ADP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  • they aim to help with the extra costs of day to day living and getting around that can come when you have a long term illness or disability
  • you claim them as an individual in your own right and they are they are completely non-means tested (totally unaffected by any other income or savings) and you do not need any National Insurance record. to claim them
  • they do not count as income in the sums for means tested benefits like Universal Credit.
  • they assessment are about the extra help that you could do with and have nothing to do with how your health limits your ability to work. ; for example 20% of people claiming PIP are in full time work
  • We cover changes to these benefits in Part B: Changes ahead for Disability Benefits