Autumn budget 2024 - what do the UK Government’s economic plans mean for people with MS?

The chancellor announced a range of plans, including: 

• Increasing funding for the NHS and healthcare research 
• Reducing NHS waiting times 
• Meeting savings targets linked to the previous government’s plans for the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) 

Key healthcare announcements 

£22.6 billion for NHS England 

• The government announced a £22.6 billion increase in the ‘day-to-day health budget’ in England. As well as further money for new beds in hospitals, new capacity for over a million additional diagnostic tests and new diagnostic centres.  

£1.7 billion for Wales 

• The budget has promised an ‘extra £1.7 billion’ for the Welsh Government. Health is a devolved matter, so Welsh ministers will decide how this money is spent.  
• We’ll find out how the Welsh Government has chosen to spend this funding in December, in the draft Welsh Budget. It’s likely it will be used to help to cut NHS waiting times in Wales, one of the key priorities for the government in Wales.  

£3.4 billion for Scotland 

• The budget has led to an additional £3.4 billion of funding for the Scottish Government for devolved areas like health.  
• We’ll find out how they plan to spend that money in the Scottish budget in December. To pass the Budget, the Scottish Government will need to get the votes of another party. So, this could influence what’s included in their plans.  

18-week waiting times for NHS England  

• The government said they want to make progress towards their commitment that patients shouldn’t wait longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment in England. 

Funding for healthcare research in the UK 

• The chancellor announced the government would protect investment in research and development. This includes £520 million for a new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund. This fund will provide grants for investment in the manufacture of medicines and medical technology.
• The government also announced a real-terms increase in the budget of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is the government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research.  

What we're saying

Ceri Smith, our Head of Policy, says:

The crucial injection of NHS funding announced in today’s Budget will be welcome news to the 150,000 people living with MS in the UK. Being able to see a neurologist is vital for timely diagnosis and starting treatment. But our Helpline is currently flooded with calls from people facing significant delays. 

The government’s efforts to reduce waiting times couldn’t be more needed, but hospital care is only part of the story. People with MS require a wide range of healthcare services – from GP appointments to community support like physiotherapy – in order to live full and independent lives. It’s key the government invests in all these services and puts plans in place to make sure there are the staff there to deliver them into the future.

What comes next

This injection of NHS funding in England is welcome news. Especially because we regularly hear from people with MS facing difficulties in accessing specialist and ongoing treatment and support.

We want to work with the government to make sure people with MS have access to a neurologist, as well as a wide range of properly resourced healthcare services. We’re engaging with the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS in England and will be making sure our MS community’s voice is heard throughout the process.

Key social security and employment announcements 

Work Capability Assessment changes may still go ahead 

• The government is considering pushing ahead with the previous Conservative government’s plans to tighten the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to help them meet savings targets. However, they haven’t clearly set out how they’d put these proposals into place or whether they’d make any changes to the plans.  
• If they came into force, these plans would make it harder for some disabled people to get the highest level of support on Universal Credit (UC) or Employment and Support Allowance. They’d likely come into place in September 2025. 
• The changes would only apply to new claimants and people being reassessed.  

Benefit and pension rates to increase

• The Chancellor confirmed working-age benefit rates, such as UC and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), will be increased by 1.7% in April 2025. This matches the inflation rate from September this year.  
• The basic and new state pension will go up by 4.1% from April 2025, in line with the ‘triple lock’ guarantee. 

Universal Credit deductions will be reduced  

• Some people have money taken off their UC to pay off debts. Currently this can be up to 25% of their standard allowance. The government said they will change rules so no more than 15% can be deducted.   

Carer’s Allowance earnings limit to rise to £196 a week

• There’ll be a rise in the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 a week to £196. This means people can earn up to £196 a week from paid work (equivalent to 16 hours per week at National Living Wage) and still receive Carer’s Allowance. More carers will also be eligible to claim this benefit. 
• The government also repeated its commitment to an independent review into overpayments of Carer’s Allowance. And what changes can be made to lower the risk of future issues with overpayment. 

Funding for employment support  

• The government once again said they have an ambition to support more people in to work. They’ve committed over £800 million to deliver disability employment support across the next year. 
• The government will invest £240 million to trial new ways of getting people back into work. This will include testing new approaches on how to tackle the root causes of people being out of work due to ill health. 
• They also plan to spend £115 million in 2025-26 to deliver ‘Connect to Work’. This is a new supported employment programme matching disabled people or people with health conditions into jobs and then supporting them to succeed in their roles. 

What we're saying 

Charles Gillies, Policy Co-Chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium and our Senior Policy Officer says: 

Today’s budget indicates that the government will press ahead with the previous administration’s plan to tighten the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). If implemented, these changes to the WCA would represent a failure of the needs of the poorest disabled people. This approach could rob many people with severe health conditions like MS of over £400 a month. 

If the government’s serious about supporting disabled people into work, then it shouldn’t be pursuing policies which stigmatise them and deepen mistrust. The government must start to rebuild trust by providing clarity on their long-term plans for the WCA and prioritising disabled people’s financial security over cost-cutting.”  

What comes next 

We’re speaking directly to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to call on them to abandon the previous government’s WCA proposals. We’re making it clear they must directly involve people with MS when developing their plans for this assessment. And ensure their needs are reflected. 

There was no update on the government’s plans for PIP, following a consultation in the summer which had been launched by the previous government ahead of the general election. We're continuing to push for the government to abandon the plans set out in the PIP consultation. These proposals will do nothing to improve how PIP works. Instead, we want the government to undertake an in-depth review of PIP that genuinely looks at ways the application and assessment process can be improved to make sure people with MS can get the support they need easily, while being treated fairly.

We’re encouraged by the focus on employment support for disabled people in the Budget, which goes alongside positive changes to flexible working and Statutory Sick Pay currently being debated in the Employment Rights Bill. We’ll inspect the details of these plans when they’re fully published in the ‘Get Britain Moving’ white paper being released soon.

Share your experience of employment and MS

We know people with MS can face unique challenges with employment. We’re working with policy thinktank the Work Foundation on research into the challenges people with MS face at work, and the support that could make a difference. We’ll use the findings to inform government’s plans in this area. 

Take a few minutes to complete our employment and MS survey

How you can get involved

If you want to get involved with our campaigning, you can sign up to receive all our latest campaigns emails. Through our campaigns, you’ll find out how you can make your voice heard about the big issues affecting people living with MS.  

Join our campaigns community