Thank you to everyone who has got in touch about the Government’s planned reforms to the welfare system.

Many of you have shared your personal experiences of claiming PIP and other benefits, and I thank you for that.

As you may know, I served as Shadow Minister for Disabled People for four years up until the general election in July 2024. I have spoken to hundreds of disabled people and the organisations who work with them and listened closely to their concerns over the future of benefits. I also know that many disabled people who don’t currently work want to do so, but that the right sort of support is not available.

I welcome much of the work support that Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, announced in her statement last week, including: allowing people to try work without fear of having to go through the assessment process again; reforming and modernising the broken Access to Work system; disability employment gap reporting; and ensuring everyone has access to a supportive work coach so no one is written off.

We also know that the benefits system is in desperate need of reform. The Green Paper the Government published last week is not the final plan. It is the first step in the process, and it is vital that as MPs we listen to constituents’ views and experiences and ensure we feed these into the consultation and directly to Ministers.

The Secretary of State has been very clear that none of the reforms announced last week will result in any immediate changes to anyone’s benefits. I will be taking every opportunity I can to impress upon Ministers the importance of engaging with disabled people and the organisations which support them as this process moves forward.

The Government is consulting on many of the measures announced last week. You can read the proposals in full and respond to the consultation here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper

All that said, I absolutely understand that many people will be feeling uncertain about the future. We do not know exactly what changes will eventually be brought in or how they might work yet, but if you have any immediate concerns about your own situation, please contact my office.