BLOG UPDATE FROM LUKE MYER MP

18 March 2025

I know there have been alarming headlines about potential welfare changes from the Government, so I wanted to wait until the announcement was made in order to read it properly and give my view. Having listened to the Statement in the House of Commons today and read the accompanying documentation, I’m clear that these changes are not what have been reported. While this is only a paper and the detail will be in the Bill later this year, I believe that the principles set out here are common-sense reforms, necessary to help those in need – and I’ll set out why.

For too long, Teesside has felt the impact of a welfare system that fails both those who need support and those who want the opportunity to work. The current welfare system is broken, with thousands of young people locked out of opportunity (81% higher in the Tees Valley than other parts of the country).

The Conservatives stripped back local employment support, let NHS waiting lists spiral, and left thousands trapped – blamed for circumstances beyond their control instead of given the help they needed. In our region, we have a disproportionately high number of people who are out of work with long-term health conditions. They are not only locked out of opportunity, but also the well-evidenced health and wellbeing benefits of a decent job (Marmot 2005; Kim & von dem Knesebeck 2015; Chandola & Zhang 2018). They are denied the dignity and pride that good work brings. That has to change.

Labour’s Plan for Change is about fairness and opportunity; if you’re too unwell to work, you will always be protected and supported to live with dignity. But if you want to work, you should have the right support to make that a reality. And if you’re in work, you should be able to earn a decent wage and build a secure future for your family.

Here’s what’s actually changing:

• Protecting those who cannot work – No one will be forced into work when they are too unwell to do so. We will always provide security and dignity for those who need it.
• Fixing the broken assessment system – The current process leaves too many people stuck in limbo, unable to move forward. We will restore trust by making it fairer and more accurate. Work Capability Assessments will be scrapped by 2028, removing a system that has caused unnecessary stress for so many. Those with lifelong disabilities or conditions will never be reassessed.
• Better employment support – Many sick and disabled people want to work, but don’t get the right support to do so. The Government has committed to invest in tailored help so that more people can find good jobs that work for them.
• Tackling the disability employment gap – The Tories left over four million disabled people locked out of the workforce. We’re making work pay by strengthening employment rights and expanding Access to Work. We will introduce a ‘Right-to-Try’ work scheme, so those with long-term sickness or disabilities can explore employment without risking their benefits.
• Immediate financial support – Right now, too many are struggling to afford essentials. That’s why there will be a permanent above-inflation rise to the basic rate of Universal Credit, putting more money into the pockets of those who need it – alongside the investment of £1bn to extend the Household Support Fund, raising Carer’s Allowance, and capping unfair benefit deductions that drive people into hardship.

This is just the first step in fixing a broken system, and there will be further information to come. It’s important to note these are just proposals, and the actual legislation has not yet been published.

Several years ago, in a previous job, I led a piece of work on policy solutions to work and health in the North East. I called for local leaders to work together with employers to deliver more personalised employment support, embedded in communities, and use commissioning powers to help good employers to expand. As I wrote then, “if they can work together to tackle this vital area of economic and social policy, they can ensure that people living here benefit from better work and better health into the future.” I believe those calls are more important than ever, and today I spoke to the Mayor of Middlesbrough about the need for localised ‘work and health’ projects in our region.

With these reforms, nobody will be forced into unsuitable work, and nobody will be left behind. But what we will do is replace a system that leaves people stuck, with one that helps people move forward – giving Teessiders the dignity, opportunity, and security they deserve.

I will of course listen widely to different groups on the proposals, and when the legislation is published later this year, I will scrutinise it in detail. I support sensible reforms to the welfare system, and believe that the most vulnerable people must be given more support – not less.

Thank you for reading,

Luke

References

Chandola T and Zhang N (2018) ‘Re-employment, job quality, health and allostatic load biomarkers: prospective evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study’, International Journal of Epidemiology, 47(1), pp 47–57. doi:10.1093/ije/dyx150

Kim TJ and von dem Knesebeck O (2015). ‘Is an insecure job better for health than having no job at all? A systematic review of studies investigating the health-related risks of both job insecurity and unemployment’. BMC Public Health. Sep 29;15:985. doi: 10.1186/s12889-015-2313-1. 

Marmot M (2005). ‘Social determinants of health inequalities’. Lancet. Mar 19-25;365(9464):1099-104. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71146-6.