What the King’s Speech means for people with MS
Yesterday, King Charles III delivered the King’s Speech in Parliament. The speech set out more than 35 new bills the UK government wants to pass in the next two years. Here’s a breakdown of what was announced and how it could impact the MS community.
What was in the King’s Speech?
NHS Modernisation Bill
The King confirmed the government’s intention to push forward with significant reforms to the NHS. This builds upon the government’s existing commitment to abolish NHS England by April 2027.
The NHS Modernisation Bill will set out how the government plans to improve care for patients through investment and modernisation. According to the government, key measures include:
- creating a new Single Patient Record to enable joined-up care and empower patients through the NHS App
- transferring NHS England’s functions into the Department of Health and Social Care with the aim of reducing bureaucracy
- strengthening local democratic accountability in health systems
- local health bodies taking on greater commissioning responsibility
- streamlining the patient safety landscape
- embedding patient voice in national decision-making through a new Patient Experience Directorate
What do we think?
For people with MS, shared care records can make a real difference. They can reduce the need to repeat their history. And help professionals across neurology, primary care and community services to make informed decisions. Any move towards a Single Patient Record must be joined up, usable for NHS staff and prioritise patient trust.
Some of these changes could improve services for people with MS. The reforms aim to give local health bodies more accountability. And give patients more opportunities to influence decision-making. But transferring NHS England’s responsibilities is a big change.
The government needs to make sure that these reforms improve the quality and accessibility of MS services and treatment. They must reduce postcode lotteries, not make them worse.
Our Policy Manager Peter Lloyd says:
The integration of NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care must not come at the cost of critical specialist expertise. Living with conditions like MS can be debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable - and leadership roles like the National Clinical Director for Neurology are vital in driving improvements for those facing overstretched and underfunded services.
This transition is also an opportunity to give local services a stronger voice in decisions affecting people with MS. But patients, clinicians and frontline teams must be involved throughout the process - not consulted once decisions have already been made.
What wasn’t included?
The Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
The government previously committed to introduce new laws requiring large employers to disclose their disability pay gaps. This should make it easier for disabled people to bring unequal pay claims where they've been underpaid.
The proposed laws are also expected to enshrine the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people in law. These are simple and effective measures that would have a positive impact for disabled people.
Although the government responded to a consultation on the proposed measures in March, the legislation was missing from the King’s Speech. This doesn’t mean that the government is abandoning the plans. However, we’re concerned that the promise for stronger employment rights for disabled people isn’t a political priority.
We’re calling on the Government to make the change they promised and ensure they’re prioritising legislation to support disabled people.
Welfare reform
We didn’t expect any new announcements on welfare. But, the speech confirmed the government intends to reform the welfare system through the Timms Review into Personal Independence Payment (PIP). And the Milburn Review, which is reviewing youth unemployment. The King said the UK government wants the welfare system to support disabled people to flourish in work.
PIP is designed to support disabled people to meet high disability-related costs. It can support some people with MS to stay in employment. But it’s important that everyone who needs PIP is able to receive it. This means people both in and out of work.
The Timms Review into PIP is being co-led by Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP, and a steering group. The group is made up of disabled people and experts who will help set strategic direction and share decision-making.
The review aims to make sure that PIP fairly reflects the reality of the impact of people’s conditions in the modern world. The findings of the review will be presented to government later in the year. The government has committed not to make any changes to PIP before then.
The Timms Review Steering Group has published a call for evidence where they want to hear people’s views and experiences of how PIP is currently working. They'd also like to hear ideas about how the process could be improved. The deadline to respond is 28 May.
Find out how to share your views
What happens next?
MPs are debating the content of the King’s Speech this week and will continue into next week.
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