Do you have a disability or health condition that limits or prevents your capacity to work?
To avoid receiving a lower rate of support, apply for the Universal Credit health element by April 5th. After that date, the support you may receive if eligible will be around £3,000 less on average per year.
Our peer researchers have been pushing for an extension to the deadline for the cuts to the Universal Credit health element. While the cuts were scheduled for April 6th 2026, in practice, assessment timelines meant people would have needed to apply months in advance to be eligible for the higher rate.
A recent government amendment now makes clear that anyone who applies for receiving the health element by 5th April — and is subsequently found eligible — will receive the higher rate, regardless of whether they had completed their assessment or served the three-month waiting period by that date.
The significant cuts to the health element will harm disabled people and push many into poverty – this extended deadline gives more time for disabled people to apply for and receive vital financial support.
Who might be eligible?
Your eligibility is determined through a Work Capability Assessment which looks at many different factors. Many people may be eligible without realising.
Jenny, one of our peer researchers, stresses that it is really important for people to consider requesting a Work Capability Assessment as soon as possible, as after the deadline, the amount people receive will be significantly less.
Here is how to begin the application process:
If you are already receiving Universal Credit payments, to begin the process of applying for the UC health element you will need to register a change of circumstances and indicate you are unable to work for more than seven days. You will also need to submit medical evidence. There is more information here on reporting a change of circumstances.
If you can’t see a doctor in time, do change of circumstances, report it on your account, and send letter recorded delivery to Universal Credit with other medical evidence.
If you aren’t currently on UC but think you might be eligible for UC and the UC health element, when you apply for UC you can report whether you have a health condition or disability that affects your ‘capability to work’. As above, you will need to submit medical evidence of a disability or health condition that will impact your capability to work for over 7 days.
Please check the following for more information on how to apply and eligibility:
Advice services:
It might be worth contacting your local Citizens Advice Bureau if you need advice and support with any of the above. Alternatively, you can search for advice services on this Advice Services Alliance page.
Other considerations:
If UC make a decision following a WCA that you are fit for work or have ‘Limited Capability for Work’ but not ‘Limited Capability for Work Related Activity’ it would be worth seeking specialist advice about the decision. There is a 1 month deadline to ask for a decision to be reconsidered (known as a mandatory reconsideration) and following this there is also the option of appealing to an independent tribunal.
Current claimants and new claimants who meet the special rules criteria or new severe conditions criteria will receive the higher rate of UC health beyond April 6th 2026.
