By Dan Grennan Lizzy Buchan
The controversial cuts to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefit may never happen after Labour rebels forced the Government into another U-turn. The plans to reduce the numbers of claimants by tightening the scheme’s qualifying criteria were shelved to avoid Keir Starmer losing a House of Commons vote. The bill passed but has been so watered down that it was branded a “complete farce” by one Labour rebel. The PIP cuts were due to take effect in November 2026 but now a review of the scheme must be conducted before any changes take place. There is not set time for the conclusion of the review but some of the Labour rebels had estimated it would be after November next year. The cuts that were intended to save around £5billion may now end up costing the Government cash. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will now be faced with even more difficult decisions in the autumn budget with warnings of tax rises being issued. The Government gutted its plans to cut disability benefits only 90 minutes before a crunch vote where dozens of Labour MPs were threatening to revolt. The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments (PIP) Bill was designed to tighten eligibility for these two key disability benefits. But the entire section on PIP will now be removed and planned cuts shelved until a review reports back in autumn 2026. The Government won the vote tonight after watering down the bill. Plans to make it harder for future claimants to qualify for PIP had been due to come into force in November 2026. This has now been delayed until Disabilities minister Sir Stephen Timms has conducted a promised review into how PIP is assessed. The Government has already ditched plans for PIP changes to apply to existing claimants, protecting around 370,000 people who had been expected to lose the benefit. So, the last-minute U-turn means the applications process will remain the same for at least a year and it may not even change after the conclusion of minister Timms’ review. The Timms review will look at the assessment criteria for PIP, which was drawn up a decade ago. Claimants are assessed using a points system, with scores for how difficult they find tasks like washing, dressing, using the toilet and cooking for themselves. The Government had proposed requiring people to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity. Under the current system, needing help to wash or dress your lower body, or help to cook a simple meal, was worth two points. The review, which will be done with disabled people, will look at whether the criteria “effectively capture the impact of long term health conditions and disability in the modern world “. It will also look at the role of PIP assessment and whether other evidence should be considered. It is expected to report back in autumn 2026. Plans for cuts to the health element of Universal Credit (UC) are the only thing left in the bill. The UC health top up will be slashed to £50 a week for new claimants from April 2026, while existing claimants will still receive a weekly payment of £97. An above-inflation increase in the standard allowance of UC remains. It’s hard to overestimate what a blow this is to the Prime Minister. He repeatedly argued that this plan would help to fix the broken welfare system. But despite his massive majority, his own MPs wouldn’t let him make these changes. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .