Sixth Delegated Legislation Committee
24 June 2026
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Committee House of Commons
00:04 - 00:23
Speaker 6
Order, order. Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance, Decisions and Appeals, Amendment Regulations 2026. I call the Shadow Minister, Rebecca Smith, to move the motion.
00:23 - 01:47
Speaker 16
Thank you, Ms. Hobbs-House, it's a privilege to serve under your chairmanship. I appreciate it's incredibly warm in here, so bear with me, but um, we want, we feel this is an important debate to be had this afternoon. So today I want to sound the alarm about this statutory instrument. This new measure hands the government sweeping discretionary powers with too few safeguards and too little scrutiny. The change would allow the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to extend the length of fixed-term Personal Independence Payment awards, known as PIP.
It is intended to tackle the backlog of awards reviews following COVID-19, but we believe it takes us backwards, not forwards. Under the previous approach, people's awards have been regularly reviewed to ensure that the support they receive reflects their actual circumstances. Yet under the new approach, most claimants will only get two checks in ten years. One review period will last four years, with subsequent reviews lasting six years. That is just not good enough.
Taxpayers deserve confidence that support is being targeted correctly. Previously, 77% of PIP awards were for up to two years, according to the Department for Work and Pensions. This means that many people will experience substantial extensions to their review periods. Now, of course, we must acknowledge the serious problems with PIP caseloads, which shot up after COVID. Yet at best, this is a blunt tool to fix a difficult situation.
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