Many amendments have been tabled for the third reading of the Universal Credit and Personal independence Payment Bill. There are now 18 pages of detailed amendments, some on behalf of the government and some on behalf of those opposing the bill.
Below are a selection of the amendments.
4-point rule
Government amendment (Gov 4) removes clause 5 – the PIP 4 point rule – from the bill. If this is accepted (which it will be) it will be the end of the 4-point rule, unless it is resurrected in the Timms review which seems unlikely.
UC freeze
A new clause put forward by the government (Gov NC1) provides for the freeze to the universal health element not to apply to existing claimant, people who meet the severe conditions criteria and terminally ill patients. This was one of the government’s earlier concessions to the rebels.
Name
Even the name of the bill is now subject to a government amendment (Gov 5), which would remove the words “and personal independence payment” from the title of the bill. If the amendment passes, the bill will be the Universal Credit Bill.
Severe conditions criteria
Labour MP Graeme Downie has tabled an amendment (17) which relates to an issue that Benefits and Work has been highlighting. The severe conditions criteria (SCC) as currently written require claimants to prove they meet the SCC “constantly”
Constantly is defined in the Bill as “at all times” or “on all occasions on which the claimant undertakes or attempts to undertake the activity”.
However, many degenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy follow a slow path of decreasing ability, with periods of remission.
At present, the bill would prevent people in these circumstances getting the higher payments and freedom from reassessment that the SCC provide, long after it is certain they will never work again.
The amendment would allow for the SCC to apply to claimants who have fluctuating conditions, such as Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis.
Private doctors
An amendment (33) by SNP MP Kirsty Blackman, removes the requirement that, for the severe conditions criteria (SCC), a diagnosis must have been made by a health professional providing NHS services. Many people are forced to resort to a private diagnosis because the NHS waiting list for an assessment for their condition is years long. As the bill stands, having a private diagnosis only, appears to bar claimants from the SCC.
Date of UC cuts
An amendment (19) brought forward by work and pensions committee chair Debbie Abrahams, changes the date on which the universal credit cuts start, from April 2026 to November 2026.
More reports
A proposed new clause by LibDem MP Steve Darling would prevent most of the Bill coming into force until a range of reports and consultations had been completed.
What happens next
In a likely chaotic session on 9 July, these amendments – or as many as there are time for -will be considered by a committee of the whole House and voted on before a final vote on the whole bill, as amended, takes place.
The Speaker will make a decision on whether the Bill will be certified as a money bill only after all the amendments that are agreed have been included in the bill and it is now in its final form.
If it passes the commons, the bill will then be sent to the House of Lords. However, if it is certified asa money bill then the Lords will have no power to oblige the Commons to consider any amendments they suggest and the bill will automatically become law after a month.
You can download the latest amendments from a link on this page.
