Speaking up for our community and campaigning to protect PIP

Impact of the government's proposed benefits cuts

Our new evidence about the impact of proposed benefits cuts is fuelling our campaign to protect PIP.

In May, we asked the MS community to share views about the government’s plans for disability benefits. And over 2,000 people completed our survey to help us build up strong evidence to campaign to protect disability benefits.

Now we’re releasing our data and making sure the government understand the impact of their proposed cuts. And making sure MPs speak up for the MS community in parliament.

What is the government proposing?

In March, the government announced proposals to change disability benefits. This includes plans to make changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). These changes haven’t happened yet. Some changes are being consulted on. And some changes will require MPs to vote on new legislation that brings them in.

One of the proposals is to change the scoring requirements for the PIP daily living assessment. If the government’s plans go ahead, there will be changes to the qualifying criteria for the daily living component of PIP. People will still need to score at least 8 points in the ‘daily living’ activities. But under the new plans, 4 out of these 8 points will need to come from a single daily living activity.

This could mean that people who need support with washing, dressing or preparing food could find it harder to qualify for PIP. The criteria for the mobility component will not be changed. This would apply to all new claimants and existing claimants if reassessed.

What we’ve found

If the cuts go through as proposed, we’ve found that:

• 41% of PIP daily living claimants with MS are at ‘high risk’ of losing money
• 94% of PIP claimants with MS worried proposals will worsen MS symptoms
• 31% of PIP claimants with MS who are working say losing PIP will force them to stop work

Freedom of Information request

We submitted a ‘freedom of information’ request to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They told us that 22,500 claimants with MS in England and Wales didn’t score 4 points in any one category of their last daily living assessment.

We've analysed the data we've collected. And we've concluded that this affects 2 in 5 (41%) of all daily living claimants with MS in England and Wales. This puts them at high-risk of losing financial support.

We don’t know what scores people would get in their next assessment for PIP. But we do know that if people get the same score when reassessed from November 2026 they would lose financial support. This could mean losing out on up to £110.40 a week, or up to £5,740 a year.

Results of our PIP survey

In May, over 2,100 of you took part in our survey about the proposed changes to disability benefits.

We asked those who are at ‘high risk’ of losing financial support about how they use their PIP. Of those who received less than four points for all daily living activities in their last PIP assessment:

• over four in five (84%) said they need support with preparing food
• over three-quarters (76%) said they need support with washing and bathing.
• almost two thirds (63%) said they need support with dressing and undressing
• over half (54%) said they need support with managing toilet or incontinence needs

Our survey also found that more than a quarter (27%) of respondents claiming PIP are in employment. And lots of them said that the benefit helps them to stay in work.

For the survey respondents who claim PIP and are currently working, losing their PIP would have negative impact on their ability to work. Almost a third (31%) said they would have to leave their job. While three in five (61%) said that if their PIP was stopped, they would have to keep working, even if their health worsened.

Lots of people who took part in the survey told us about their worries and concerns. Almost all (94%) respondents said they’re concerned the changes will cause stress to people with MS generally and worsen people’s MS symptoms. Over four in five (86%) of all respondents said they were worried the changes would have negative effects for them personally. Of them:

• almost two-thirds (64%) are worried they won’t be able to afford heating
• over half (55%) are worried they won’t be able to afford food
• four in five (80%) are concerned their MS symptoms will get worse
• four in five (80%) are concerned their MS symptoms will get worse

We have been flooded with concern since the government announced its plans for benefits. The survey paints a really powerful picture of the impact of the government’s proposed cuts.

Katie is scared about the future

We spoke to Katie Thomas, a policy advisor from West London, who lives with relapsing MS. She’s no longer able to walk unaided and struggles to manage daily tasks like household chores and personal care. Her other MS symptoms include bladder issues and tremors.

Since 2022, Katie has been claiming the daily living component of PIP. But despite her difficulty walking she didn’t qualify for the mobility component. And under the government’s proposed new criteria, she risks losing out on her PIP award entirely.

Katie says: 

“I’m at the point now with my MS where I can barely cope getting up, getting washed, and getting dressed. I should be getting people in to help me with washing and personal care. But at the moment I’m not able to do that because I’m spending my PIP award on things for my mobility, like taxis to essential healthcare appointments. I could also do with adapting my bathroom, but that’s very expensive.

I’m already struggling. My entire life is work, trying to manage domestic tasks and personal care. I very rarely leave the house more than twice a week, so much of my energy is just spent on surviving. If I get worse, or have just one more relapse, I won’t be able to cope.

So when I think about what the changes could mean for me, it’s very scary. If I get worse, it’s difficult to envision a future in which I could live a fulfilling life and contribute. I worry a lot about the future. In five years’ time, where will I turn?”

What are we saying? 

Charlotte Gill, our Head of Campaigns and Public Affairs, says: 

“This new evidence presents a grim picture of what life could look like if these cuts go ahead. Sadly, these findings chime with what people have been telling us for months - that losing this financial support will be devastating to people with MS.

MS is debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable. If the government go ahead with these proposals, they will make life even harder for people with MS and push more disabled people into poverty.

The government says it’s listening to disabled people. Now is the chance for the government to stick to its word and do the right thing – to halt these proposals and go back to the drawing board.”

We’re here for everyone in the MS community

Our MS helpline is here to support you and give advice on accessing benefits. You can call us on 0808 800 8000 or send us an email at [email protected]. And it's important to remember that nothing is changing yet. If you’re going through a process to access PIP at the moment, that process isn’t changing.

Together with our campaigners, we are campaigning to reverse these proposals. And calling for a welfare system that supports people with MS, whether in or out of work.

Find out more about our campaigns and join us in speaking up to protect disability benefits.

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