No 10 considering expanding under-25s benefits overhaul to older age groups
Summary
The UK government is considering whether to extend proposed changes to disability benefits for people under 25 to older age groups. The proposals would shift some support from ongoing benefits toward training, employment assistance and help with specific costs, but ministers have not decided whether to expand them.Key Facts
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer and cabinet ministers have discussed applying a “participation first” approach to working-age people over 25.
- Alan Milburn’s planned recommendations would replace the Universal Credit health element for under-25s with training and employment support.
- Under Milburn’s proposal, young people with disabilities would lose ongoing Personal Independence Payments and could seek help from a local fund for specific short-term costs and equipment.
- People with the most severe needs who cannot work would keep their entitlements under the proposed changes.
- The government is also awaiting recommendations from Stephen Timms’s review of disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment.
- Extending the approach to older people could affect a larger group, but ministers say their circumstances may require different support.
- The proposed support for young people has been estimated at about £6 billion, but the government is not expected to commit to that full amount.
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