Autumn 2024 Budget Summary/ Key Policy Announcements relevant to disability

  – with thanks to Megan Thomas

 

 

 

 

Summary: 

• Keeping WCA reforms, no mention of PIP and these reforms aren’t listed in the specific policies, commitment in the written Budget for health and disability reforms to be published 2025 
• Papers proposed: Fraud Error and Debt Bill, Get Britain Working White Paper
• Welfare fraud being framed as about “criminal gangs” obscuring the impact on Disabled claimants
• Carer’s allowance, allows for more hours, but unsure on the benefit for carers who would not be able to work those additional hours and we are worried this is about forcing people with informal support responsibilities into unsuitable jobs 
• Pushing on with accelerated migration of people from legacy benefits to Universal Credit. There are lots of issues people are experiencing with migration which this will compound 
• National Living Wage to increase by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour for people aged 21+
• £86 million increase to Disabled Facilities Grant
• Core schools budget increased by £2.3 billion, increases funding per pupil in real terms
• Fair Repayment Rate, will cap the amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit payments to repay loans and debts at 15% of standard allowance

 

WCA and Health and Disability Reforms: 

In speech to HoC, Rachel Reeves commits to delivering the savings from the previous Government’s WCA proposals. 

In the Budget Paper, it specifically lists that changes to “health and disability policy” will be set out in 2025. This will likely include the WCA changes and the language mirrors that of the Health and Disability White Paper proposed by the Conservatives. Predict we will see similar proposals to that of the Conservatives although it does not list much additional information and we will have to wait to see what comes from Liz Kendall.  

 

Maintaining the Welfare Cap: 

Committed to maintaining the Welfare Cap brought in in 2014. To be reviewed by Office for Budget Responsibility at first fiscal event of the next Parliament, initial margin rises by 0.5% to 5% by 2029-30.

 

Universal Credit (UC)- Some proposed changes: 

Acceleration of moving people from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to UC, £90 million investment for legacy benefits to be decommissioned by 2026. 

Fair Repayment Rate, will cap the amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit payments to repay loans and debts at 15% of standard allowance. Government saying that those affected be better off by £420 a year and to affect around 1.2 million households on UC. 

 

Uprate of working- age benefits: 

1.7%, same as most recent figures on UK inflation, but matching inflation to payment that isn’t anywhere near enough. 

 

State pensions: 

Maintaining triple-lock on pensions and state pensions uprated by 4.1%. 

 

Fraud and Error: 

Big talking point in both the speech and the written paper. Rachel Reeves specially attributed this to “criminal gangs” and they seem to be trying to distance from the fact that it is disabled people predominantly affected/ claiming these. No mention of disabled people or disability until proposals for supporting people into work. 

3,180 new fraud and error staff across DWP and HMRC, stated savings £800 million 2029-30, new investment to verify changes to UC £250 million in 2029-20, Targeted Case Reviews stated savings £2.5 billion by 2029-30.

 

Fraud, Error and Debt Bill: 

New powers to ‘tackle welfare fraud and error’. Gov prediction of savings (in 2029-30): 

• £475 million, on new powers to “ensure welfare being paid correctly” by data sharing with banks and financial institutions 
• £260 million, strengthening DWP powers to recover debt 

 

Commitment to collaborate with HMRC, Home Office and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Major concern, huge impact on disabled people’s rights and invasion of privacy. Particularly concerned about the emphasis on collaboration with the Home Office. 

 

Get Britain Working White Paper: 

Will cost £240 million, eight “trailblazer” areas across England and Wales bringing together health, employment and skills services targeted at people out of work due to “ill health”, to include NHS England Health and Growth Accelerators in at least three Integrated Health Systems to develop evidence of impact of targeted action. 

• £115 million in 2025-26 on Connect to Work, new employment support programme targeted at matching disabled people with vacancies and supporting them in their roles. Estimated reaching nearly 100,000 people a year 
• Budget specifically mentions disabled people as targeted by this policy
• Health is devolved to Wales, no information yet on how this will work with devolution. There is a Senedd election in 2026, with a newer, more proportional proposed electoral system, need more information on the longevity of this policy should a new Government be elected. 

 

Carer’s Allowance:

Weekly earnings limit to be raised “to support them into work or to work more hours if they choose.” Increase to the equivalent of 16 hours at National Living Wage, specifically points out that 70% of recipients are women. 

Government also doing a review into overpayment of Carer’s Allowance and specifically looking at what more can be done to get carers into work. 

 

Minimum Wage: 

National Living Wage to increase by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour for people aged 21+, change to be in place from April 2025. Budget states Government intention to create a single adult wage rate, it does not state a date that this will be done by. The current proposal increases National Minimum Wage for 18-20 year olds to £10 an hour, which is a increase of 16.3%. The National Minimum Wages for under-18s and apprentices to increase to £7.55 an hour and the Accommodation Offset rate will increase to £10.66 a day. 

 

Disabled Facilities Grant: 

Budget proposes £86 million increase to Disabled Facilities Grant, states that this will support 7,800 more adaptations to homes. 

 

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities System (SEND) 

Core schools budget increased by £2.3 billion, increases funding per pupil in real terms. Budget states that £1 billion of this funding specifically for SEND. Equivalent of 6% growth in real terms. 

This policy is England-only, but there may be Barnett consequentials. [Barnett consequentials are changes to the block grants given by Westminster to the devolved administrations that have arisen from changes in UK government departments’ spending.]