Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the potential implications of changes to disability benefits on health and social care services.

We are investing almost £26 billion of extra funding for the Health and Social Care System so people can get the treatment they need to get back to work instead of being stuck on waiting lists, delivering over 2 million extra appointments 7 months ahead of schedule.

Baroness Louise Casey, a cross-bench peer, has been commissioned to develop options for immediate action to improve adult social care in England before charting a course for longer term reform as announced in January. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will support this review – and work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) – as we take forward the proposals in this Green Paper.

In the short term, up to £3.7 billion of additional funding will be made available for social care authorities in 2025/2026, including an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. To support unpaid carers to combine caring responsibilities with some paid work, from April 2025 the Carers’ Allowance earnings limit will be pegged to 16 hours work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels (rounded to the highest pound), and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This is an increase from £151 to £196 a week. DHSC are also commissioning research on the link between the adult social care system and PIP.