Luton North MP Sarah Owen has welcomed significant concessions made by the government to the controversial Welfare Reform Bill but has warned she will not support the legislation at its final stage if there is any backtracking on promises made to disabled people.
Ms Owen, who chairs the Women and Equalities Committee, said she had set out two “red lines” that needed to be addressed before she could back the Bill: that employment support must come before any changes to welfare payments and that any changes for new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants must be subject to a genuinely co-produced review with disability organisations.
In a public statement issued last night, she said those conditions had now been met as the Bill passed its second reading in the Commons.
“It will be a relief to many who have fought for concessions that the government has made significant changes to its proposed PIP reforms – including removing the proposed four-point criteria,” she wrote, adding: “I will continue to work to see more improvements as this Bill progresses.”
Ms Owen confirmed that existing PIP payments would be protected and that no new changes for future claimants would take place until after the so-called Timms Review – a review to be carried out in partnership with disabled people and charities.
The government has also agreed not to introduce the much-criticised four-point eligibility threshold, which many feared would make it harder for people to qualify for support. Employment support, she said, would now be in place before any benefit changes were enacted – something she described as essential for helping disabled people who want to work but face high barriers to access.
While acknowledging the Bill has been “vastly improved” since its early drafts, Ms Owen made it clear her support at this stage is conditional, saying: “If there is any question of backtracking or watering down safeguards, I will not support the Bill in the later stages at the third reading.”
She added that it had always been her belief that “nothing should happen to disabled people without their input and experience. Any changes to the welfare system must be co-produced alongside disabled people and disability rights or organisations. This was promised in our manifesto.”
As one of the lead signatories to a Reasoned Amendment urging the government to rethink the legislation, Ms Owen said she was proud to have worked alongside other colleagues and grateful to long-standing campaigners who had pushed for these changes.
She said the concessions offer relief for the thousands of her constituents in Luton North currently receiving PIP, and expressed hope that future changes will be handled differently – “with disabled people, not against them”.
The revised Bill comes after mounting pressure on ministers from within Labour and across the House, with concerns raised over the speed and substance of the reforms. The government’s last-minute climbdown, including the scrapping of its four-point rule, has also raised questions about how it will now meet its planned welfare savings – with analysts warning that around £5 billion in projected cuts have effectively been dropped.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has come under fresh pressure after reports that Treasury officials fear fiscal targets could be missed, and she was further scrutinised after a tearful appearance during Prime Minister’s Question, though Sir Kier Starmer has since backed her to remain chancellor “into the next election and for many years after”.
Though the Bill passed its second reading, debate continues over the long-term implications. Critics, including disability rights groups, remain concerned about a possible “two-tier welfare system” developing – one that treats future claimants differently from those currently in receipt of benefits. Campaigners have also warned that the changes still risk pushing thousands of disabled people into poverty if future protections are not maintained.
Ms Owen said she will continue working closely with the disabled community and the minister to see further improvements made as the Bill progresses. But she stressed again that her support depends on the government sticking to its word and ensuring the Timms Review is “widespread and genuine”.
