Summary

  • Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announces changes to the welfare system aimed at saving £5bn by the end of 2030 - BBC Verify has taken a look at this number

  • Personal Independence Payments (Pip): Eligibility for the main disability benefit will be narrowed

  • Changes to Pip are likely to be the most politically controversial element of today's announcements, our political correspondent Henry Zeffman writes

  • Universal credit: The measure used to determine if someone is able to work will be scrapped in 2028 and will instead be assessed through Pip

  • Merging benefits: The government will consult on merging jobseeker's allowance and employment support allowance

  • "Right to try": People will have the right to try returning to work "without the fear this will put their benefits at risk", Kendall says

  • The Tories say the announcements are "too little, too late" while the Lib Dems say real cultural change is needed at the Department for Work and Pensions

Media caption,

Watch: Henry Zeffman explains what welfare changes mean

  1. We are taking decisive action, says Kendallpublished at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time

    Responding to her Tory opposite, Kendall says Helen Whatley appears to be railing against the Tories' failings and "lamenting action" the party didn't take.

    She claims Labour is taking "decisive action", and that she isn't interested in being "tough", saying this is about "real people, with real lives".

    She says she is interested in transforming lives and building a system that lasts.

  2. 'You didn’t do it, you didn’t do it' - Streeting heckles Whatleypublished at 13:28 Greenwich Mean Time

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    The health secretary, Wes Streeting, is repeatedly heckling the shadow work and pensions secretary, Helen Whately.

    As she sets out the elements of the government’s package the previous government was working on already, he keeps chipping in: "But you didn’t do it, you didn’t do it."

  3. Changes 'too little, too late' - shadow work and pensions secretarypublished at 13:28 Greenwich Mean Time

    It's now the job of shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately to respond for the opposition.

    She says she agrees with Liz Kendall on one thing - that the welfare bill is too high.

    Whatley adds that the best way to bring it down is by getting people off benefits and into work - which, she says, the Conservatives did “year after year”.

    She defends the Tories’ record and says they identified ways of tackling these issues, “but at every point, Labour opposed them”.

    She asks how many people these policies will get back into work and when, and says it is “fundamentally too little, too late”.

    Media caption,

    Government should have been tougher with reforms, opposition says

  4. Crackdown on benefits 'to save £5bn by 2030'published at 13:17 Greenwich Mean Time

    This is a significant reform package that is expected to save over £5 billion in 2029/30, Kendall says.

    Moving onto the third and final objective, she says it is to deliver personalised support to sick and disabled people who can work to get the jobs they "need and deserve".

    "This Labour government believes that an active state can transform people's lives," she says, announcing an additional £1bn a year for employment support.

    Alongside this, for those on the universal credit health top-up they will bring in an "expectation to engage" alongside an offer of personalised employment support, she says.

  5. Eye-catching announcement for people aged under 22published at 13:16 Greenwich Mean Time

    Henry Zeffman
    Chief political correspondent

    The contours of what Liz Kendall just announced had become clear via briefings to MPs and the media over the past few weeks.

    Probably the most significant announcement that was not trailed in advance was Kendall’s announcement that those aged under 22 will no longer be able to claim the incapacity benefit top up to universal credit.

    That appears designed to disrupt the flow of young people from school straight onto health benefits – one of the issues which has most alarmed ministers.

  6. The key changes so farpublished at 13:15 Greenwich Mean Time

    We're still listening to the Commons, but here's some of what we've heard so far:

    Universal credit:

    • There will be permanent above-inflation rises to universal credit
    • Universal credit claimants with severe, lifelong disabilities will not usually face benefits reassessments
    • The work capability assessment for universal credit is to be scrapped in 2028 - the assessment essentially determines whether someone is able to work

    'Right to try':

    • People will have the right to try returning to work "without the fear this will put their benefits at risk". Kendall says this will tackle the "perverse financial incentives... which actively encourage people into welfare dependency"

    Personal independence payments:

    • People will need to score a minimum of four points in one category to qualify for the daily living element of Pip, which is the main disability benefit. This won’t affect the mobility component of Pip

    Merging benefits:

    • The government will consult on merging jobseeker's allowance and employment support allowance into a time-limited "unemployment insurance"
    • "If you have paid into the system, you'll get stronger income protection while we help you get back on track," Kendall says

    Savings:

    • Kendall says the crackdown on benefits aims to save £5bn by 2030
  7. Pip announcement likely to prove most politically controversialpublished at 13:15 Greenwich Mean Time

    Henry Zeffman
    Chief political correspondent

    There’s a lot here, which Liz Kendall is racing through from the despatch box.

    Most crucially, so far, she has confirmed the expectation that eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (Pip) will be narrowed.

    This section of the announcement was described in terms of what “points” a claimant would need to qualify but around a million people are likely to be affected.

    This is likely to prove the most politically controversial element of today’s announcements, within the Labour Party at least.

  8. 'We will not means test or freeze Personal Independence Payment (Pip)'published at 13:14 Greenwich Mean Time

    Kendall continues by saying the government will not means test or freeze Personal Independence Payment (Pip).

    She says that instead claimants will need to score four points in at least one activity.

  9. Government publishes Green Paperpublished at 13:11 Greenwich Mean Time
    Breaking

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    Here are the government’s ideas, written down — the so-called Green Paper. , external

  10. Universal credit for those with most severe conditions won't be reassessed - Kendallpublished at 13:10 Greenwich Mean Time

    MPs in the House of Commons listening to a speech by Liz Kendall

    Kendall says she wants to ensure that those on universal credit with the “most severe disabilities and health conditions that will never improve” won’t be reassessed “to give them the confidence and dignity they deserve”.

    She says the government will “fundamentally overhaul” the DWP safeguarding approach to protect and support the most vulnerable.

    Disability benefits will also be reformed to ensure the social security system “lasts for the long term into the future”, she adds.

  11. Postpublished at 13:06 Greenwich Mean Time

    Kendall now talks about a "right to try" scheme, so people can go back to work without fearing for their benefits.

    She says the current system is based on a binary assessment of "can or can't work", which does not take into account fluctuating symptoms.

    She says the government will balance the payments in universal credit from April next year.

    There will be an additional premium for people who will never be able to work.

    She also announces a permanent above inflation rise to universal credit to £775 by 2029/30.

  12. Kendall announces changes to universal creditpublished at 13:01 Greenwich Mean Time

    Kendall says the government's second objective is to "restore trust and fairness" in the benefits system by fixing the "broken assessment process" and tackling the "perverse incentives that drive people into welfare dependency".

    She outlines criticisms of the current work capability assessment, announcing Labour will not go ahead with the Conservative's proposals to change it, and instead will scrap it entirely by 2028.

    In future, extra financial support for health conditions in universal credit will only be assessed through Personal Independence Payment (Pip) so extra income is based on the impact of someone's health condition or disability, not on their capacity to work, she says.

  13. Jobseekers' Allowance, employment and support allowance to be mergedpublished at 12:57 Greenwich Mean Time

    Liz Kendall speaking in the House of Commons

    Liz Kendall continues, saying this is a "decisive shift toward prevention and early interventions".

    There are four million people in work with limiting conditions, but 300,000 are falling out of work every year, she says.

    We have to do more to help people stay in work, she says, adding that the government will help more employers give more disabled people more opportunities.

    She goes on to announce that the Green Paper will consult on major reform of contributory benefits.

    Jobseekers' Allowance (JSA) and employment and support allowance (ESA) will be merged into a new time-limited unemployment insurance which will be paid at a higher rate, without having to prove you cannot work in order to get it, she says.

  14. System will be there for those with 'genuine need', says Kendallpublished at 12:53 Greenwich Mean Time

    Kendall says she knows there “will always" be those who cannot work due to the "severity of their disability or illness” and ensures the system will be there for those under “genuine need”.

    She says, however, that disabled people and those with health conditions who can work should have the same access to work as everybody else.

    “That principle of equality is vital,” she adds.

    She adds that many want to work with the right help and support.

  15. This is decisive action - work and pensions secretarypublished at 12:47 Greenwich Mean Time

    Kendall points to what she calls a "legacy of 14 years of Tory failure".

    "Today we say no more," she says.

    She says the government is investing into the NHS to get people back to work, improving the quality of work and creating more good jobs across the country.

    She adds the Green Paper sets out "decisive action" to get people working who can work and to protect those who cannot work.

    • For context: Green Papers are consultation documents produced by the government, which allow people inside and outside Parliament to give feedback on policies
  16. No sign of Badenoch on thinly-populated Tory benchespublished at 12:45 Greenwich Mean Time

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    The cabinet is out in force in the Commons to support the work and pensions secretary.

    The prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the chancellor and others.

    The Conservative benches are considerably more thinly populated. Kemi Badenoch is not here.

    The shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, and the shadow work and pensions secretary, Helen Whately, are though.

  17. Kendall: Government ambitious for people and countrypublished at 12:44 Greenwich Mean Time

    Liz Kendall in the Commons

    Liz Kendall begins her statement by saying the government is ambitious for "our people and our country" and believes unleashing the talents of the British people is the key to success.

    But the social security system inherited from the Conservatives is failing the very people it is supposed to help and holding people back, she says.

    One in 10 people of working age are now claiming a sickness or disability benefit, almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training, and the number of people claiming Pip is set to double this decade, she says.

    Millions of people who could work are trapped on benefits, she tells the Commons, saying they're denied the income, hope, dignity and self-respect "that we know good work brings".

  18. Crowded chamber a reminder of significant momentpublished at 12:41 Greenwich Mean Time

    Henry Zeffman
    Chief political correspondent

    A wide shot of a packed House of Commons

    Often ministerial statements in the House of Commons are fairly sparsely attended. For this, the chamber is crowded.

    And a cabinet minister making a policy announcement might usually expect to have a few junior colleagues join them on the frontbench.

    Liz Kendall is flanked right now by Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister.

    This choreography matters: it is a visible reminder that this is a massively significant moment for the government, and that what Kendall is about to announce bears the imprint of the prime minister as well as her.

  19. PM joins Kendall on front bench ahead of statementpublished at 12:37 Greenwich Mean Time

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    Hello from the press gallery of the House of Commons.

    The prime minister has just arrived, as has the deputy prime minister, the chancellor, the health secretary and the work and pensions secretar y— here goes with her statement.

  20. Watch live as government to announce welfare system changespublished at 12:30 Greenwich Mean Time

    Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is about to announce plans to cut the nation's benefits bill and reform the welfare system.

    We'll be bringing you live coverage of the statement in the Commons, as well as analysis and reaction, and you can follow along by hitting watch live at the top of the page.