The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that planned cuts to the Universal Credit health element will go ahead in April 2026, despite calls from MPs to delay the changes. The reforms mean new claimants with health conditions will receive less financial support under Universal Credit compared to those applying before the cut-off. It comes as part of a wider package of changes introduced in the Universal Credit Act, which received Royal Assent in September.

The DWP said the new lower Universal Credit health element will come into effect from April 6, 2026 and apply to new claims. Existing recipients and those with the most severe conditions will continue to receive the current higher rate. However, a cross-party group of MPs sitting on the Work and Pensions Committee had called on ministers to delay the changes until a full independent review could assess the impact on disabled people. They also urged the Government to increase the standard Universal Credit allowance over the rest of the Parliament.

But in its written response to the committee, the DWP said: “The new, lower UC (Universal Credit) health element will take effect on April 6, 2026. We will keep standard allowance rates under review.”

It added that the Universal Credit Act legislated for the “first ever sustained, above inflation increase to the standard allowance”, which is expected to benefit millions of people.

Under the reforms, the standard allowance will increase gradually over the next four years, reaching an estimated £725 more per year by 2029/30 for a single adult aged 25 or over, the Daily Record reported.

The DWP said this rebalancing would help tackle what it described as “perverse incentives” in the benefits system and encourage more people to work where possible.

New claimants of the health element from April 2026 will receive £50 per week, while current recipients can get up to £105 per week, according to committee estimates.

The DWP said people with the most severe or lifelong conditions will not lose out. Those who meet the Severe Conditions Criteria or whose claims are processed under the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) will continue to receive the higher rate.

All current recipients of the Universal Credit health element will also be protected from the cut, as the lower payment will only apply to new claims made after April 6, 2026.

However, Debbie Abrahams MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, warned the change could hit disabled people hard.

She said: “From April 2026, people with a new disability or health condition will receive half the financial support on UC Health – £54 per week – compared with someone with the same impairment or condition in March 2026, who will receive £105 per week.”

She added: “This is not only discriminatory, but without mitigations, will potentially push more people with disabilities and health conditions into poverty, exacerbating their condition and pushing them further away from the labour market.”

Ms Abrahams, who is MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said there could be long-term savings if the Government invested more in personalised employment and health support.

“A recent analysis estimated that up to £12.5 billion could be saved in DWP spending from reduced Universal Credit health claims and boosted tax receipts before the end of the decade,” she said.

The DWP maintains the reforms will “address the fundamental imbalance in the system” and reduce dependency on benefits, while offering exemptions and safeguards for those most in need.

You can read the full Government response and the committee’s six recommendations on the GOV.UK website.