The United Kingdom’s Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has unveiled a wide-ranging welfare reform strategy that will transform the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) into a “Department for Work.” Her strategy is focused on reducing dependency on benefits while providing individuals with the support they require to get a job and maintain it.
Change of Focus
Liz Kendall plans to overhaul the welfare system by addressing underlying barriers to work such as health issues, skills gaps, childcare, and access to transport. She underlines that support should not become a long-term safety net but rather a stepping stone to decent work.
Disability Insurance
To ensure support reaches individuals who really require it, the government has outlined significant reforms to disability benefits. By November 2026, Kendall’s plan requires tougher PIP eligibility criteria. In raising the standard Universal Credit amount, the government will reduce the health top-up for new claimants.
Kendall also introduces a “right to try” work program, where disabled individuals are allowed to try out their ability to work without the loss of benefits. She further vows to scrap the Work Capability Assessment by 2028 as a way of simplifying the claims process and reducing administrative barriers.
A rise in reassessments
The government plans to scrutinize more regularly sick and disabled benefit claimants to ensure that only individuals in need of long-term support keep claiming benefits. By capping eligibility and ensuring benefits factor in changing medical conditions, Kendall’s strategy aims to save £1 billion. However, there will be assured compensation and exemptions for individuals suffering from degenerative or permanent conditions.
Restructuring Job Centres
Liz Kendall believes that in a response to economic inactivity, local leaders are the key. By giving local authorities greater control of labour, health, and skills schemes, she recommends decentralising social schemes. Her policy also envisions a major overhaul of job centres, merging Jobcentre Plus with the National Career Service to prioritize work over benefit administration.
The labour market
Kendall suggested forming the Labour Market Advisory Board, consisting of outside experts, to guide further reforms. To ensure policies are suitable for the needs of the labour market, this board, headed by Paul Gregg, a previous director of the University of Bath Centre for Analysis of Social Policy, will make quarterly recommendations to the Work and Pensions Secretary.
Inactivity in the Economy
Kendall has prioritized reducing youth unemployment by implementing a youth guarantee for young people aged between 18 and 21. Her proposal includes recruiting 8,500 additional mental health workers to assist young people who are struggling to get jobs. Kendall hopes to cover the near 11 million working-age individuals who remain unemployed in the UK, based on official estimates, through targeted interventions.
Issues of Public Concern
Welfare organizations and disability charities have criticized Kendall’s proposals, arguing that cutting disability allowances will further exacerbate the hardship for already vulnerable individuals.To prevent aggravating poverty and misery, critics urge the government to consider alternative sources of revenue, including wealth taxes.
Kendall asserts that her plan will lead to a fairer and more efficient welfare system despite these misgivings. She remains committed to balancing social support with fiscal prudence, ensuring that the government equips those who can work with the resources they need to reenter the economy.
Liz Kendall’s welfare reform bill is a dramatic shift in the manner in which the UK helps its injured and unemployed citizens. She seeks to create a system that ensures economic independence while maintaining essential safety nets for the needy by putting much focus on work, streamlining benefit processes, and empowering local leaders.
