Petition Abandon DWP Pathways to Work Green Paper & create National Disability Strategy

Government responded

This response was given on 10 July 2025

We will not abandon the principles of the Green Paper, but we are changing the Bill to ensure disabled people are protected and more involved, via co-production of the PIP assessment review.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a range of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and boost employment support. The reforms are designed to protect the most vulnerable, while supporting those who can work to do so – and to give disabled people the equal choices and chances to work that they deserve. We will not abandon the reform principles set out in the Green Paper or our commitment to improve the system and deliver proper employment support for disabled people.

Many of the proposals were part of the public consultation which invited disabled people to share their views and received over 45,000 responses before closing on the 30 June. We are now carefully reviewing responses as we further develop proposals, alongside facilitating other ways to involve disabled people in the reforms. This includes the Collaboration Committees we launched on the 2 July, which bring together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.

The Collaboration Committees will cover a range of areas, including the employment support plans outlined in the Green Paper – the biggest investment in employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions in at least a generation. Our new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits is backed up by £2.2bn over four years. The Collaboration Committees, alongside consultation responses, will help ensure we get the new employment support offer right. The Disability Advisory Panel announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, will further ensure the perspectives of disabled people inform our work.

Some reforms announced in the Green Paper were brought forward via the Universal Credit (UC) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill, which was introduced to Parliament on the 18 June. This Government is committed to protecting the incomes of disabled people and we have listened to the concerns raised – that is why we have proposed changes to the Bill. The changes will go further to protect existing claimants and those meeting the Severe Conditions Criteria or considered under the Special Rules for End of Life. In addition to receiving the higher UC health payment, the proposed changes ensure that from April 2026, these customers will see their UC standard allowance combined with UC health rise at least in line with inflation each year for the next four years. For those who meet the Severe Conditions Criteria, we have also legislated that they will not be called for a reassessment of UC – removing unnecessary stress, anxiety and uncertainty.

We have also announced that any changes to PIP eligibility, will only come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, led by the Minister for Social Security and Disability. To underline this commitment, we have proposed an amendment to the UC and PIP Bill to remove the changes that it proposed to the PIP eligibility criteria. The wider review will consider whether the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future in a changing world and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence.

The PIP assessment review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. We have published Terms of Reference for the review, and we will engage widely over the summer to design the process for its work.

The National Disability Strategy was an initiative of the previous Government. We will provide further updates on the Government’s longer-term priorities for disability policy in due course. We are committed to engaging disabled people meaningfully in our reforms to social security – and the PIP review underlines this commitment. This Government strongly values the voices and interests of disabled people – and that is why there is a Lead Minister for Disability in every government department, to represent the interests of disabled people and champion disability inclusion and accessibility. As we drive forward progress on the Government’s manifesto commitments and five missions, we will continue to collaborate across government to champion the rights of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.

Department for Work and Pensions