The Reform UK party proposes cutting about £50bn from the benefits bill through changes to disability payments, including scrapping the Personal Independent Payments (Pip) system that affects nearly three million people. According to a policy document, 2.89 million working-age people would have their Pip payments removed or modified under these plans. The party also wants to make companies pay for employees off sick for the first two years and cut National Insurance contributions to offset this cost. Labour has criticized the proposal as "fantasy economics" that strips support from disabled people.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
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Reform UK says it would aim to cut about £50bn from the benefits bill and scrap the disability payments system, Pip, if it comes in to government.
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it → say → government
Robert Jenrick, the party's treasury spokesperson, said the plans, to be set out in full on Monday, would be the most comprehensive overhaul to the welfare system in a generation and affect nearly three million people.
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plans → say → people
In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, external he said the current system is "suicidal empathy" and "a strange perversion of compassion".
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system → say → compassion
Labour said it was "fantasy economics, built on stripping support from disabled people", while the Conservatives called it a "half-baked policy" and another "attempt to distract from" questions about the £5m gift party leader Nigel Farage received.
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Farage → say → gift
Reform's plans include making companies pay for any employees off sick for the first two years.
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companies → include → years
Businesses with more than five employees would have to take out insurance to cover the cost.
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Businesses → have → cost
Reform says this is modelled on the Dutch system and would incentivise employers to make adaptions and encourage people back to work to reduce their insurance premiums.
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this → say → premiums
The party says they would cut the National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid by employers to offset the cost of this measure, insisting the change would be cost neutral for businesses.
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change → say → businesses
In a policy document to be published next week, which the BBC has seen an extract of, the party estimates 2.89 million people would have their disability payments' removed, or modified, under plans to abolish Personal Independent Payments (Pip) for working age people.
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payments → publish → people
The party would also remove the extra health-related payments on Universal Credit.
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party → remove → Credit
A new system, called a Health Security Allowance, would replace both Pip and the Universal Credit health element but only the most "severe, enduring and high-risk cases" would receive cash support, the document says.
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document → call → support
Other claimants would be supported through a council-run programme to cover what Reform said would be the "verifiable additional costs" as a result of their disability.
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Reform → support → disability
To boost available support for people out of work, the party says it would spend an extra £1.85bn a year on interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy, physiotherapy, and employment support.
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it → boost → therapy
Reform also wants to reform children's benefits, and is promising to align the system for anxiety, depression and ADHD in young people with its changes to the adult system.
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But this would only apply to new claimants.
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this → apply → claimants
In March 2025, the government attempted to tighten the daily living assessments for both current and future claimants, but was forced to dial back after pressure from Labour MPs.
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government → attempt → MPs
Jenrick described this as an attempt at "modest savings" gutted by backbenchers.
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Jenrick → describe → backbenchers
Last month, an interim report was published by Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms, who has been leading a review into Pip, stating the benefit was "not fit for purpose" and requires a fundamental change.
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benefit → publish → change
A Labour spokesperson said: "Reform's £50bn claim is fantasy economics, built on stripping support from disabled people and shifting costs onto employers.
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claim → say → employers
Labour is already reforming welfare: narrowing the gap between Universal Credit standard and health rates, restoring face-to-face assessments, and investing £3.5bn in employment support to end the culture of people being signed off and written off."
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people → reform → culture
The Conservative's shadow welfare secretary Helen Whately said: "This half-baked policy is just another Reform attempt to distract from Farage's fishy £5m and his embarrassing underperformance in his pointless by-election."
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policy → say → election
A parliamentary standards investigation is taking place into a £5m gift given to the Reform leader from a donor before he became an MP, with Farage saying the money did not need to be registered.
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money → take → donor
The investigation was paused after Farage resigned as Clacton MP in response to the scrutiny of his financial backing, triggering a by-election last week, which he won.
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he → pause → which
