Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Thursday 27th July 2023

Income-related benefits have always taken household income and capital into account when determining entitlement. However, PIP and DLA are not taken into account when determining benefit entitlement.

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA(IR)) and Universal Credit (UC) are means-tested welfare support. It has been the longstanding policy of successive Governments that income-related benefits treat couples as a single household unit when assessing benefit entitlement. Where claimants have income available to help meet their household’s everyday living costs, such as through a partner’s earnings or savings, their entitlement to benefit is adjusted accordingly.

The Government understands disabled people may face additional, disability-related costs, which is why income provided to meet those costs through extra costs disability benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance, are not taken into account when determining entitlement to income-related benefits.

Extra-costs disability benefits are not means-tested and are payable in and out of work, or in training. They are individual benefits and are not affected by household status or finances, and are paid in addition to other benefits such as ESA and UC. These extra-costs benefits are also passports to additional support, such as the Blue Badge scheme, Motability, and Carer’s Allowance for a carer.

In addition, households receiving severe disability benefits and/or entitled to carer benefits are exempt from the benefit cap to ensure the most vulnerable are supported.

Eligibility for ESA(IR) and UC is dependent on satisfying the basic conditions of entitlement and those relating to their financial position. Both benefits take into account the income and capital of the claimant and their partner, or a new partner if the claimant does not need to make a new claim. UC is replacing ESA(IR), but the principle of assessing members of a couple in this way will remain.

People with substantial savings or other capital should draw on these resources before looking to the taxpayer for support, particularly as many taxpayers themselves have savings below these limits. UC operates in a similar way to the benefits it is replacing; this is a longstanding principle within income-related benefits, such as Income Support and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Universal Credit provides more generous support for disabled people than it does for people in similar circumstances who are not disabled.

Based on the outcome of a Work Capability Assessment, a Universal Credit claimant who is determined to have limited capability for work and work-related activity may be awarded an additional amount of benefit, currently £390.06 per calendar month (2023/24 rates).

Additionally, households where one of the claimants has been determined to have limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work-related activity are eligible for a work allowance.

A work allowance is the amount that households with children or a household member with limited capability for work can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to be tapered, meaning many claimants will be able to earn either £379 or £631 each month before their Universal Credit begins to be reduced.

UC is not paid to claimants who have sufficient income available from other sources to support themselves. The general principle is that income, other than earnings, which is provided to meet everyday living costs, is fully taken into account in the calculation of UC.

Department for Work and Pensions