Reform’s plan for future of benefits revealed – list of changes | Politics | News

Nigel Farage has unveiled detailed welfare reforms that will significantly reduce spending while tightening rules for both UK beneficiaries and immigrants. Reform UK has promised to make the “biggest cuts to the welfare bill ever seen”, raising fresh questions about what a Farage-led government could mean for millions of claimants.

The party has prioritized shrinking the welfare budget, tightening eligibility rules and reforming disability support, claiming the current system is unaffordable and reduces incentives to work. The reform argues that the current structure encourages dependency rather than self-reliance, especially as health claims have increased in recent years.

More than 24 million people currently benefit from some form of support from the Department for Work and Pensions. This broad total includes retirees receiving state pensions, individuals receiving health-related payments such as personal independence payments, and working households claiming universal credit top-ups.

With the government predicting it will spend around £330bn on benefits and social security this year (a figure roughly equal to all income tax revenue collected), the scale of the potential changes has sparked intense debate.

At a recent press conference, Mr Farage promised “the biggest cuts to the benefits bill ever seen in this country”.

Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick, a former Tory Cabinet minister, claimed the party had identified savings of up to £40bn through a combination of eligibility reforms and administrative efficiencies.

Although Reform UK has now outlined some concrete measures, disability campaigners continue to raise concerns about the perception that full details of implementation and safeguards are missing.

One of the most far-reaching proposals involves removing welfare rights for all foreign nationals after a three-month notice period. This will eventually include those with EU settled status, with the party estimating it would save up to £10bn a year from universal credit alone.

The move will challenge aspects of the post-Brexit withdrawal agreement signed in 2020, which protects the benefit rights of many EU citizens currently living in the UK.

Data shows this group represents around one in ten universal credit claimants. The reform also plans to increase the immigration health surcharge paid by non-British nationals to access NHS services.

Experts such as Professor Anand Menon of King’s College London said: my newspaper Such steps could trigger a strong response from the EU and potentially lead to the suspension of parts of the withdrawal agreement or trade cooperation framework.

Reform UK plans to end personal independence payments for people with what it describes as “non-serious conditions of concern” and direct claimants onto a fast-track employment programme.

Mandatory face-to-face assessments will replace current processes for many applicants. PIP currently provides support of up to £194.60 per week to help with extra living costs due to long-term physical or mental health problems.

The party also wants to reform the Mobility scheme, limiting it to non-luxury vehicles and providing accessibility only to those with clear mobility needs.

This comes amid existing Workforce cuts to the program that allows qualified individuals to rent cars using their mobility allowances.

Despite specific commitments being made, significant uncertainties remain over the further cuts that may be required to deliver the Reform’s wider tax-cutting agenda, including the elimination of VAT on energy bills.

With the triple lock on state pensions maintained, pressure on working age benefits, which account for roughly half of the total welfare budget, is likely to worsen.

Disabled organizations made harsh criticism. Ian Greaves of Disability Rights UK described mandatory face-to-face assessments as an unnecessary waste of public money and argued that much of the necessary medical information could come directly from NHS records.

He warned that reintroducing the two-child limit would push many working families already struggling with living expenses deeper into debt.

Contact’s head of policy, Una Summerson, highlighted the lack of detailed policy information and expressed concern about what she saw as increasingly hostile rhetoric towards disabled families.

He stressed that reforms focused solely on reducing spending, without parallel improvements in health, social care and employment support, could plunge more vulnerable households into crisis.

Political analysts are divided. Some, such as Professor Stephen Barber of the University of East London, think the proposals are complaint-driven rather than a fully coherent welfare programme.

Others, including Joe Shalam of the Center for Social Justice, argue that bold steps are long overdue given growing public frustration over health-related demands and immigration costs.