BBC Radio 5 Live has been hearing your thoughts on the proposed changes to the welfare system this morning.

A 38-year-old man from the north west says he’s happy to give up his personal independence payment (Pip) for someone who needs it more.

He was diagnosed with acute leukaemia a couple of years ago, and says it’s important to accept the population is “getting older and sicker”.

He says he became wealthy through business success just before he fell ill, but still qualified for Pip as it’s not means-tested.

“I don’t need the payment, I’d rather sacrifice mine and see it going to someone who needs it,” he says. “We need to do something to save the public purse.”

Christina McSorley
BBC News

Image source, PA Media

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey calls on the government to pull their proposed welfare changes.

He says the "PM's own backbenchers" can see the damage these reforms could do to unpaid family carers and those they look after.

Davey made the call as the Liberal Democrats have tabled their own Reasoned Amendment aimed at stopping the bill.

It highlights the plight of unpaid family carers as a result of these cuts and instead urges the government to fix the crisis in the NHS and social care, to get people off waiting lists and back into work.

"Family carers do tremendous work in often the most challenging of circumstances, taking huge pressures off our health services and helping loved ones," Davey says, adding that "taking support away from our nation's carers is the worst kind of false economy".

"I hope the Prime Minister listens and pulls this bill instead of cutting vital support from thousands of vulnerable people."

Angus Cochrane
BBC Scotland News

The answer is not straightforward, since the Scottish government has significant devolved powers over social security.

The Personal independence Payment (Pip) is being phased out in Scotland and replaced by the devolved Adult Disability Payment, meaning Labour ministers’ plan to impose stricter assessments on the Pip would not affect claimants north of the border.

However, any reduction on spending on the benefit by the Treasury would have a knock-on effect on the Scottish government's budget.

Universal Credit (UC), meanwhile, is a reserved benefit paid by the UK government to Scottish claimants.

That means any reforms – such as restrictions on a top-up for claimants who are unable to work, or an increase in the basic rate – would apply directly to claimants north of the border.

The UK government has also said the work capability assessment, used to assess UC claimants, is to be fully scrapped by 2028.

Instead, the UK system will rely on an assessment used for Pip.

With Pip being phased out in Scotland, it is not yet clear how Scots would be assessed for the health element of UC under the proposed reforms.

As we mentioned earlier, Nicky Campbell has been taking taking calls on BBC Radio 5Live this morning to hear your thoughts on the proposed welfare changes.

One of the listeners we've heard from is Viv - calling from Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire - who says she "won't survive" if her benefits are pulled.

"I won't survive, mentally or physically. I can’t live on any less than I have now," she says.

Viv receives around £400 a month through Pip which she says keeps her "afloat", but any changes to it would mean she would lose her home and be unable to pay bills like gas and electric.

She adds that Pip claimants are left in limbo, not knowing whether they will continue receiving their payments or not.

She says she voted for Starmer, but is torn between her "loyalty" to the Labour party and her "dislike of their policies at the moment".

"We’re human beings that are trying to live," she says, adding: "All I want is to get up, look after my family and not be in pain."

• You can listen to Viv's testimony and other callers' thoughts on BBC Sounds

Image source, HANDOUT

The BBC has been speaking to one of the people who could find their lives changing if the government's welfare changes go ahead in their current form.

Teenager Kailee Kember-Brown, a wheelchair user, says she doesn't want to spend her entire life on benefits - but she's so far applied for more than 40 jobs without success.

The 19-year-old from Dover, in Kent, is currently entitled to a top-up to her Universal Credit income because of her disability.

But her financial situation could be changing, as the government plans to cut the top-up (worth £423-a-month) for under-22s with long-term illnesses or disabilities.

A lot of the jobs she has applied for are with companies listed in the government's Disability Confident scheme, which encourages employers to hire and retain disabled staff.

But Kailee says it's particularly "disheartening" when she fails to hear back from them.

"When you apply for it and you're like, 'Oh my God, I tick all the boxes,' and then they never get back to you or even look at your CV, it's kind of like, well, what am I meant to do now?"

• You can read more from Kailee in our story

Image source, UK Parliament

We're now hearing from the Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell, who is giving a business statement in the House this morning.

At the start of her statement, she confirms that there will be a second reading of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill on Tuesday 1 July.

That means the vote on the welfare system changes will go ahead on Tuesday - as Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner confirmed in Parliament yesterday.

Universal credit (UC) is a single benefit payment for working-age people. It was introduced to replace a range of different benefits for unemployed and low-paid people.

How does it work right now?

• Currently, people can receive a health related top-up to their universal credit after undergoing a work capability assessment
• This process determines if a person's health condition or disability would impact their ability to work
• If you have limited capacity to work, your UC payment (worth £400.14 a month) more than doubles with an extra top-up worth £423.27

How could this be changing in England and Wales?

• The work capability assessment would be scrapped in 2028, under the proposals
• For individuals applying for health-related financial support and disability benefits, they would instead only face one assessment - which is based on the current personal independence payment (Pip) system
• Under the government's proposals, claimants would also not be eligible for the incapacity top-up until they are 22 or older

Personal independence payments (Pip) have two components: daily living and mobility.

The inbound changes will affect the daily living element - and, more specifically, the assessment you have to undergo to make a claim.

This assessment involves questions about your condition and ability to perform everyday tasks. It's carried out using a points system, which are awarded based on what you are able to do.

Take washing, for example - two points are awarded if you need supervision to be able to wash, or if you need assistance to wash your hair or your body below the waist.

If you need assistance to wash your upper body, you get four points, and eight points if you need someone to wash your entire body.

How does the current assessment work?

Under the current system, you need to score at least eight across the 10 activities to qualify. If you score 12 or more Pip is paid at the higher rate.

And the new?

From November 2026, a further condition is added - at least one of the 10 activities of daily living must score a minimum of four points.

The change applies to new and existing claimants.

In our next post, we'll bring you more on how the changes will affect eligibility for universal credit.

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Keir Starmer has just wrapped up his speech at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conference in Chelmsford.

He didn't mention the wrangling over his government's proposed welfare changes, and stuck solely to business and trade.

For now, here's a look at the key bits on trade:

• 'I'm fighting for you': Stamer unveiled a new vision for trade aimed at boosting exports and protecting UK companies, telling businesses he would "back them to the hilt" as they face a "more volatile world"
• Not going anywhere: "We live in a different world now and we need to recognise that," he said, referencing Donald Trump's sweeping import taxes
• When life gives you lemons: The PM insisted, however, that "this is a great moment" for British trade - and that recent deals struck with India, the US and EU have "restored our identity"
• 'Defiantly open for business': Starmer also suggested he would pursue a series of small deals - namely, on clean energy and digital - alongside these large international agreements
• On defence: He told the BCC conference that "most importantly, in this uncertain and challenging world, we will also give ourselves new powers on trade defence"

The government's welfare changes are designed to reduce the overall working-age welfare bill by about £5bn by the end of the decade.

But Tom Waters, an associate director at the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), says the legacy of these suggested changes is "potentially quite a lot bigger than that".

"We think it's more like £11bn once these reforms are fully rolled out," which the independent think tank says could be felt "some way into the 2030s".

Waters explains that this is because the changes will slowly affect more and more people as more claimants receive these benefits in the coming years.

"It will still leave spending well above its pre-pandemic levels," he notes.

For context: Before the pandemic, the UK spent £36bn a year on these kinds of benefits, and last year, the government spent £52bn a year, which is a £16bn rise over five years, Waters explains.

Simon Jack
Business editor, reporting from the BCC conference

As we mentioned earlier, Starmer's speech at the conference this morning is focused on trade, not welfare.

The prime minister told the BCC conference that he did not think the world would be going back to the arrangements that existed before Donald Trump introduced a raft of new tariffs.

"We live in a different world now and we need to recognise that".

He said that Britain's ability to operate in this new environment was demonstrated with deals done with the US, India and the EU reset.

Simon Jack
Business editor, reporting from the BCC conference

Image source, PA Media

As we've reported, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is attending a British Chambers of Commerce conference this morning.

Business confidence among delegates is pretty downbeat.

An unscientific sample of the hundreds of leaders here reveals a business community that has not forgiven the government for hitting them with £25 billion in employment taxes at last autumn's budget.

There is also frustration that so few cabinet members have real business experience.

With inflation-busting rises in national living wage and a raft of new employment rights working their way through parliament, there is widespread agreement that hiring people has become more risky and expensive prompting many to dial down hiring and increase investment in automation.

Keir Starmer opened his speech with an admission that the government had "asked a lot of you - I get that".

While we wait to hear from Starmer, BBC Radio 5Live's Nicky Campbell is speaking to callers on the proposed changes to welfare, including claimants.

You can follow along by clicking Watch live at the top of this page.

We're expecting the Prime Minister Keir Starmer to speak at a news conference shortly, though welfare changes will not be the main focus of his speech.

That's because the prime minister will be speaking on trade at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conference, though he may get a question or two from the audience.

He's expected to begin at 09:15. Stay with us for the latest lines on welfare if we get them.

We've been mentioning universal credit (UC) and personal independent payments (Pip) a lot this morning, but what are they?

Personal independence payment (Pip) is the main disability benefit in England and Wales, with more than 3.7 million claimants.

A person can claim it if they find it difficult to do everyday tasks because of disability or a long-term physical or mental health condition. Pip is made up of a daily living component and a mobility component - claimants may be eligible for one or both.

It is paid every four weeks, tax free, with single payments ranging from £29.20 to £110.40.

Universal credit (UC) is a monthly payment, currently claimed by 7.5 million people, to help with living costs. Nearly 40% of claimants have jobs.

Around three million people on UC have no requirement to find work due to their health - but this could change.

The basic level is paid at £400.14 a month to a single person who is 25 or over, but claimants unable to work get an extra top-up worth £423.27 - more than doubling their monthly allowance.

One of the issues that rebel MPs are citing is the number of people who could be impacted by these proposed reforms.

About 3.2 million families could lose out financially, external, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says, with an average loss of £1,720 per year.

Personal independence payment (Pip):

• Current recipients: 370,000 would no longer qualify
• Future recipients: 430,000 would get less than they would previously have been entitled to, with an average loss of £4,500 per year

Universal credit (UC):

• Current recipients: 2.25 million would be affected, with an average loss of £500 a year, although this will be partially offset by the increase in the standard allowance of UC
• Future recipients: 730,000 would lose an average of £3,000 per year

However, these calculations don't take into account the effects of the extra £1bn the government says it will spend to help those with disabilities and long-term health conditions find work. It expects this support will mitigate some of the predicted financial losses.

In addition, the DWP said 3.8 million families will gain an average of £420 a year as a result of the increase in the standard UC allowance and changes to the assessment process.

Image source, Getty Images

The proposed bill will change assessments for personal independence payment (Pip) and universal credit (UC) and, in some cases, the amount people receive.

Pip, which is paid to 3.7 million people who have a long-term physical or mental health condition, is made up of two elements: a daily living component and a mobility component.

Under the proposed changes, assessments for the daily living part will be tightened, while reassessments will also become more frequent.

Those with the highest levels of a permanent condition or disability, however, will no longer face reassessment.

As for UC, which is paid to 7.5 million people, the government plans to make changes to an extra top-up received by some claimants who are unable to work due to disability or a long-term health issue.

This includes cutting how much they receive and completely scrapping the top-up for those aged 22 and under.

The work capability assessment, which checks eligibility for the health related top-up, will be fully scrapped by 2028.

For those on the basic payment level for UC, however, the government says payments will rise.

• Read more: What are the Pip and universal credit changes and who is affected?

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also said to be involved in talks with Labour rebels.

Earlier, sources suggested Reeves was "digging in" on the issue. Some Labour MPs believe her fiscal rules are partly to blame for the current situation.

For context, Reeves promised to stick to her "ironclad" fiscal rules, which include making sure debt is falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament. To help achieve this, she pencilled in £5bn of welfare cuts.

The trade minister is now questioned about the government’s own assessment of the proposed reforms, which suggests the cuts could push 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children.

Does Douglas Alexander feel comfortable with those numbers?

“That number is contested for a number of reasons,” says the trade minister.

He adds that the assessment doesn’t consider some recent Labour policies, like funding for free school meals.

Alexander says we can argue about the statistics, “but I do share the ambition to see poverty coming down”.

When asked if the vote on the reforms will go ahead on Tuesday, the trade minister repeats Angela Rayner’s comments in the Commons yesterday, saying the answer is “yes”.

Trade minister Douglas Alexander has just been asked about his party's welfare reform bill, and whether they're heading for another policy U-turn, like with the winter fuel payment.

Alexander says what stands out to him about the MPs who signed the reasoned amendment is that there is "broad agreement" on the principles behind the reforms, but concerns about "implementation".

"Now normally on second reading you're voting on the principles of a bill and then you deal with implementation," he says, but argues that the concerns raised by rebel MPs have "brought forward that discussion".

"Ministers will be talking to those MPs over the coming days," he says. "We are listening, we are working and we are engaging with Labour friends to make sure the legislation is as good as it can be."