24 June 2025

Mayor of London urges Government to rethink welfare reforms to safeguard vulnerable Londoners 

• Sadiq warns ministers that proposed welfare changes could ‘destroy the financial safety net’ for thousands of disabled and vulnerable Londoners.
• Analysis¹ shows that Londoners stand to lose £820m in total as a result of the proposed changes to PIP and Universal Credit, with 360,000 mostly poor, vulnerable and disabled Londoners facing a reduction in their incomes. 
• Tighter eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will affect up to 46 per cent of current claimants² and mean disabled Londoners face losses of between £3,800 and £5,700 per year³
• The Mayor calls on Government to bring forward the promised £1bn in employment support funding

The Mayor of London is calling on the Government to reconsider key aspects of its proposed welfare reforms, warning they could ‘destroy the financial safety net’ for thousands of disabled and vulnerable Londoners. 

The Government’s ‘Pathways to Work’ proposals would tighten eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), reduce the value of the Universal Credit (UC) Health component, and delay access to employment support.  

The GLA’s assessment of analysis from Policy in Practice highlights the impact the Government’s proposed changes would have on Londoners. This includes:   

·       Repercussions for the 440,000 Londoners claiming PIP and 240,000 claiming the health element of UC⁴. Londoners stand to lose over £820m⁵ in total as a result of the proposed changes, with more than 360,000⁶ people facing a reduction in their incomes.

·       Tighter eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will cause income losses for disabled Londoners of between £3,800 and £5,700 per year⁷ and affect up to 46 per cent⁸ of current claimants.

·       The impact of the reforms will be felt differently across disabled communities. For example, more than 70 per cent of Londoners with arthritis and pain-related conditions do not score 4 points on the daily living element⁹. They will likely face a reduction in incomes.

·       The impact will be particularly acute in London as eligibility for PIP exempts people from the benefit cap, which helps protect disabled Londoners from London’s high housing costs.  

·       It will also affect those who care for disabled people, as PIP entitlement is linked to carers allowance. It will particularly impact parents of disabled children, and disabled women who are more likely to be family carers. Those impacted would also risk losing access to other benefits, such as reduced rent and council tax.  

The proposed reforms would also raise the age of eligibility for disability benefits from 18 to 22, disproportionately affecting young disabled adults, carers, and disabled women, and increasing housing insecurity for many. 

PIP is not an unemployment related benefit and is paid to people in work – in many cases enabling people to work. These changes could leave thousands without the financial stability they need to live independently. 

City Hall will be officially submitting its response to the Green Paper setting out the Mayor’s concerns and priorities for reform. The Mayor is calling on ministers to re-think elements of their plans to tighten eligibility for PIP and UC health as they do not protect the safety net for Londoners who will continue to require support.

Sadiq wants ministers to first work with disabled Londoners to complete the promised review into PIP assessments. This will help reduce unforeseen harm and ensure the process is fit for purpose before changes are introduced.

The Mayor is urging ministers to ensure proper transitional protections are in place before anyone loses benefit entitlements. The currently proposed 13-week PIP transition period is not sufficient, and will only delay the impact of lost income for disabled Londoners. It is also vital that the promised £1bn in employment support funding is brought forward.

Sadiq is quite clear that the proposed cuts and revised eligibility criteria should not go ahead unless these guarantees are made by the Government. 

Alongside these calls, the Mayor is reaffirming his own commitment to protecting disabled Londoners. Sadiq has pledged to expand the reach of the Good Work Standard and Inclusive Talent programmes to better meet the needs of disabled people across the capital.

Additionally, the Mayor will support disabled households by investing in social welfare legal advice, promoting the uptake of underclaimed disability benefits, and signposting to trusted information and tools to help understand and access financial rights and entitlements.

The Mayor is also working with London boroughs to deliver five innovative new employment programmes through the Government’s £30m Get Britain Working Trailblazers scheme. These schemes will support more than 5,000 Londoners, including disabled people, those with long-term health conditions, care leavers, and young people not in education, employment or training, by breaking down the barriers that prevent them from accessing and thriving in work.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I have always said that more must be done to support people to go from relying on benefits to getting back into work. It’s vital for a healthy and prosperous London.

“What we can’t do is take away the vital safety net that so many vulnerable and disabled Londoners rely upon. Having looked at the analysis of the government’s plans, the impact on London will be substantial, and for too many disabled Londoners it will destroy their financial safety net.

“The Government must urgently think again. It must look again at the potential hardship these changes will force on thousands of vulnerable and disabled Londoners. The additional employment and training support ministers have promised must be brought in as soon as possible, and proper transitional protections must be in place before anyone starts to lose their benefits.”

Tracey Lazard, CEO of Inclusion London, said: “We welcome the Mayor’s strong statement calling on the government to rethink these devastating disability benefit cuts and we share his concerns that these cuts will destroy the financial safety net that disabled Londoners rely on to cover additional living costs of disability.

“The GLA’s analysis into the impact of these cuts confirm just how bad these benefits cuts will be for disabled Londoners – with at least 380,000 of the poorest Disabled people in our city losing £870 million in essential benefits support.

“It is economically and morally wrong to balance the books at the expense of Disabled people.  These reforms are not about supporting us into work, they will do the opposite . They will push hundreds of thousands of Disabled Londoners into deeper poverty, putting many at risk of homelessness, isolation and poorer health. 

“To enable us to work, we need inclusive workplaces and education, accessible housing, transport, well-functioning social care support and speedy access to the NHS. 

“The government should listen to the Mayor and its own MPs and rethink these proposals. Any changes to improve our welfare system need to be co-produced with Disabled people and focus on removing the disabling barriers we face, not on making us poorer.”

James Sandbach, London Development Manager for Citizens Advice, said: “London Citizens Advice fully supports the Mayor’s call to re-think elements of DWP plans to reform eligibility for PIP and health elements of Universal Credit.

“Experience tells us that when the government has made big changes to assessment processes in the past whether for PIP or ESA, it has led to increased errors, delays, and unfair decisions. Add to that the additional costs and barriers for disabled Londoners, and the health inequalities in our City, there is clearly a need to give much greater consideration to the particularly acute impact in London.

“Alongside any reform to benefits, employment and health support services we also need strong, well-resourced independent advice services to protect people from falling through the cracks.”

James Taylor, Director of Strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “We back all MPs and officials who oppose the government’s planned changes to the benefits system.

“Huge numbers of disabled people have spoken out against these cuts and backed our campaign.

“The government should go back to the drawing board. Over 800,000 will lose at least some financial support from PIP. It will have a catastrophic effect on disabled people’s health, ability to live independently or work.

“At no point have disabled people been consulted on these changes. 

“Life costs more if you are disabled, whether or not you are working.

“The government must change course.”

Fazilet Hadi, Head of Policy at Disability Rights UK, said: “The mayor’s statement today shows that the Government’s minor concessions have failed to convince those politicians who will have to deal with the fallout that these cuts are anything except dangerous, ill-thought-out, and needless. 

“Despite promising a consultative process, the Government is attempting to rush through a vote on proposals for which it won’t even share detailed information. With so many clear unknowns, there’s no way any MP could vote for these cuts with a clear conscience. The cuts will mean hundreds of thousands of Londoners being forced into the most difficult choices: heating or eating, paying their ever-rising rent with their PIP payments or risking themselves or their family going without.

“The Government has produced no evidence that those PIP claimants who would fail the 4-point rule have less disability-related costs than those who would pass it. Increases in PIP claims began to rise particularly steeply just after the COVID pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, two events that we know hit Disabled Londoners particularly hard. 

“Rather than delivering change, this government is attempting to implement cuts that are even more severe than those of the austerity years. We are optimistic that Sadiq Khan’s strong intervention will convince all of London’s MPs to take a stand for the Disabled community in the capital. We await their actions.”