Reform UK welfare overhaul sparks warnings of mass destitution and child poverty
Leaked analysis suggests disability payments could be slashed by £10,000 annually, while compulsory workfare and bans on non-citizen claims face fierce opposition from the disability sector and local government.
Reform UK has unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the welfare system designed to reduce the annual benefits bill by £50bn, prompting severe warnings from campaigners that hundreds of thousands of children will be pushed into poverty. The proposals include banning non-UK citizens from claiming benefits, reintroducing the two-child benefit limit, and imposing compulsory unpaid workfare on long-term unemployed individuals.
Central to the plan is the replacement of Personal Independence Payment (Pip) and parts of universal credit with a single flat-rate “health security allowance” of £429.80 a month. Leaked government analysis indicates this change would reduce income for those with terminal illness, blindness, or profound learning disabilities by up to £10,000 a year, a figure Reform Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick has disputed, claiming the most vulnerable would be protected.
The Disability Benefits Consortium, representing more than 100 charities, described the proposals as likely to “vastly increase poverty and worsen people’s health.” Disability Rights UK criticised the party’s understanding of disability needs as “utterly breathtaking,” while Scope accused Reform of pushing disabled people into poverty under the guise of compassion.
Reform argues the reforms would push an additional 241,000 British nationals into jobs by the end of the decade. The party proposes that those jobless for over a year must perform 20 hours of unpaid community work weekly, receiving only £30 in expenses. Local government insiders have described the enforcement of such work gangs as a “massive headache,” with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations warning of unintended consequences for community trust.
Approximately 1.3 million non-UK citizens currently claim universal credit, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies noting that removing these benefits would cause significant hardship. While state pensions remain insulated from cuts, the plan would tighten Pip eligibility, potentially affecting 2.9 million current claimants. The proposals follow a period of political volatility, with the Labour government previously abandoning modest disability cuts after facing backbench rebellion and public backlash.
