What is the Universal Credit Bill?
The government department that is responsible for health and disability benefits (The Department for Work and Pensions) has brought through parliament the Universal Credit Bill, which will cuts billions of pounds from future Universal Credit (UC) recipients.
New Disabled UC claimants will experience harsh cuts as the bill halves the rate of the UC health element for the vast majority of Disabled people claiming after April 2026. For those affected, this will result in a £3,000 annual reduction in income.
During the bill process, the relevant government ministers confirmed that the ‘Timms review’, which they claim will be co-produced with Disabled people, will now decide the future of Personal Independence Payment and how eligibility for it is assessed. This new PIP assessment will be used to assess eligibility for UC Health once the Work Capability Assessment is abolished in 2028.
Get Yourself Active's New Report
At Get Yourself Active, as a Disabled-led organisation, we are only too aware of the detrimental impacts benefit cuts will have on Disabled people. The knock-on effects will be found in every area of our lives, including the physical activity sphere. With physical activity representing just one of our many rights, we need to formulate a response as a sports sector to tackle the damaging impact of this bill.
Before the bill was passed, we conducted polling that showed displayed the stark public health implications of the proposed changes to the social security system. Our research found 45% of benefits recipients expect themselves to be less healthy if their benefits were reduced or removed.
Furthermore, upon examining the data, we found that among the group currently supported by the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) group of Universal Credit, 77% of people use their benefits to pay for physical activity. When asked what would happen if their support gets taken away, 60% think they’ll be less healthy, and 70% say they’ll be more stressed. A third of respondents told us they would participate less in their community, and four in ten said they would be lonelier if they lost support from the benefits system.
This briefing sets out the potential knock-on effects of the legislation. It is primarily intended for those who work in the sport and physical activity sector or work with Disabled people to increase physical activity levels.
It will cover:
- Universal Credit and Physical Activity
- The Rising Cost of Being Physically Active
- Increased Barriers to Job Access & Retention
- Potential Impacts on the NHS
- Greater Demand for Rehabilitation & Physiotherapy
- Higher Risk of Mental ill-health and distress
- Increased Demand for Home Care & Personal Assistance
- Impact on Carers & Family Members
- Impact on Carers & Family Members
- Reduced Ability to Work Due to Worsening Health
As organisations who care about tackling inequalities in sport and health, we must work together to mitigate the worst effects of this bill.
