It has been another busy few weeks in Parliament and back home in the constituency. 

To begin with, I know there has been concern about the proposed changes to the welfare system announced last week.

These changes have been proposed in a Green Paper which is a consultation document and if they come into law, it will not be immediately with the earliest changes due to come into effect in April 2026 with many coming in much later if approved.

I fully appreciate this provides only brief reassurance, if any, but I want to ensure it is made clear that nothing is changing immediately.

In terms of my thoughts on the changes, they are ones of understanding that the system needs reform to create a format which is both sustainable and fair.

Between 2019 and 2024 the UK has experienced the highest rate of growth in health-related benefit claims, rising by 38 per cent. When compared to similarly developed countries, Denmark comes in at a distant second with a 13 per cent increase over the same period.

This growth is not sustainable, for both the government to fund and for claimants seeking work.

However, that said, I am most concerned by the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

Over the last few weeks, I have already raised various issues since the changes were first rumoured arguing in particular that PIP should not be frozen. I am relieved to see that it has not been frozen but remain concerned with the changes as proposed.  

I appreciate that there is a case for reforming some areas of the system and ensuring we are providing the support so many genuinely want to enter or re-enter the workforce. There are currently 1.8 million people on Universal Credit that are not getting this support to find work.

This number has almost quadrupled since the start of the pandemic, a rise of 383% in less than 5 years. We cannot accept that this is sustainable, because it is not. We are letting people down badly if we do nothing to address this.

The number of young people not in education, employment or training has increased to almost a million. It is no secret how damaging it can be to be out of work or education in such key years during your young adult life. They rightly deserve our support to navigate the working world. 

I believe some of the measures announced last week will genuinely address this.

The planned increase to the standard allowance of Universal Credit above inflation for the first time, the introduction of a 'right to try' so work in and of itself will never lead to someone being called for a re-assessment, investing an additional £1 billion a year for work, health, and skills support and the introduction of Unemployment Insurance to protect people with a higher rate of benefit if they fall out of work to help them get back on track, are all measures which I believe will help those in need of support. 

These measures, however, do not cancel out my deep concerns around the proposed changes to PIP. In the past almost eight years as an MP, I have worked alongside my team to help many who desperately need PIP and have struggled for long periods of time to get it.

In the meantime, they have found themselves moving only further away from being able to work, rather than closer.  

As I hope you can see, I have my own concerns on the proposals, but I also want to hear from you, whether you believe you may be directly impacted or not. I have set up a short survey (which you can complete anonymously or not) where you can share your thoughts on all the proposed measures.

You do not need to be in receipt of benefits to complete the survey, but of course those on benefits are particularly welcome to share their thoughts.  

You can find the survey at https://mattwestern.org/news-article/benefits-changes-survey/ . Please do take some time to complete it to share any concerns and thoughts. 

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any issues or concerns you would like to raise with me. I can be reached at [email protected] or on 01926 882006.