Date of Universal Credit health element cuts fast approaching

9 mins read

Monday 30 March 2026

There are now only seven days to go before the government introduces cuts in the amount of the Universal Credit health element paid to some new claimants.

If you are one of the following, you need to consider taking action before Monday 6 April:

• A disabled person who isn’t on Universal Credit yet, but who could claim this benefit.
• Someone already on Universal Credit who has health problems, but who has never submitted fit notes/
• A disabled person who gets Universal Credit, has been assessed as having a limited capability for work only, and whose condition has deteriorated.

Below we explain in detail what you need to do to protect yourself from potential benefits cuts.

In this article

What is the health element?

The Universal Credit health element is also known as the limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) element. It is one of a number of extra payments Universal Credit recipients might receive.

You might be able to get this element if you are a Universal Credit claimant with health problems.

How is this payment changing?

From 6 April there will be two rates of the Universal Credit health element, rather than one rate.

Existing claimants will retain the higher rate of £429.80 per month. New claimants who meet extra severe conditions criteria rules will also receive this rate.

However, most other new claimants will only get a lower rate of £217.26 per month.

Who counts as an existing claimant?

You will be protected with the higher rate as an existing claimant if either of the following applies to you:

• You are already on Universal Credit and get a LCWRA element in your award.
• You claim Universal Credit on or before 5 April and, on that date, you’re awaiting a DWP decision on your capacity for work.

You will need to take action on or before 5 April at the latest. But the earlier you take action the better.

Who needs to take action?

Some disabled people will need to take action before 6 April if they want to try to qualify for the health element as an existing claimant.

There are three groups of people who need to consider taking action before 6 April:

• A disabled person who isn’t on Universal Credit yet, but who could claim this benefit.
• Someone already on Universal Credit who has health problems, but who has never submitted fit notes/
• A disabled person who gets Universal Credit, has been assessed as having a limited capability for work only, and whose condition has deteriorated.

Read on to find out more about each of these individual groups.

A disabled person who isn’t on Universal Credit yet, but could be

You should try to lodge your Universal Credit claim on or before 5 April. If you eventually qualify for the health element, it will automatically be paid at the higher rate.

You will need to provide a fit note from your GP to support your claim. If possible, try to submit this fit note on or before 5 April. However, if you cannot get a fit note before then – for example because your GP is unavailable – you should still make sure you claim Universal Credit on or before 5 April.

If you don’t have a fit note at the point you claim, you should state in your online journal that you are unfit for work and ask for a work capability assessment. If possible, you should also declare a health condition in the “report a change section” of your online account.

So long as you do this on or before 5 April, you will then have a further seven days from the date that you declare you are unfit to work to provide a fit note. You should be able to access your online account as soon as you complete your claim.

How to lodge a claim

You can claim Universal Credit either online or via the Universal Credit Helpline on 0800 328 5644.

Bear in mind that the helpline is only open during weekdays 8am-6pm. It will be shut on Friday 3, which is a bank holiday. Given this, an online claim is the best option for most people who don’t claim until just before 6 April.

Universal Credit claims for a young person in education

Not everyone who would like to claim Universal Credit has the option of doing this. Unfortunately, many young disabled people still in education cannot get Universal Credit due to rules preventing claims by most students. Some students are exempt, but the rules are complex

Visit our webpage all about this topic, below. The page includes an interactive flowchart to work out whether a young student is likely to get Universal Credit.

If your child cannot currently get Universal Credit due to their education, they will be treated as a new claimant when they claim Universal Credit at some later date. Their chances of getting the higher health element will depend on them meeting the extra severe conditions criteria.   

If a young person aged 16-19 in full-time non-advanced education gets Universal Credit, any benefit payments you get for them as a dependent child will stop. This includes Universal Credit child payments and any Child Benefit. Some households could be left worse off as a result.

Someone already on Universal Credit with health problems, but who has never submitted fit notes

It is worth trying to submit fit notes on or before 5 April and asking that your capacity for work be assessed.

You should declare a health condition in the “report a change” section of your Universal Credit account. Also state in your online journal that you are unfit to work and ask for a work capability assessment.

If you qualify for a health element, you will automatically get this at the higher rate as an existing claimant.

If you cannot get a fit note from your GP until after 5 April, you can instead notify Universal Credit that you are unfit for work in your online account. Do this on or before 5 April and then ensure you submit a fit note within a further seven days.

If you miss these deadlines and ask for your capacity for work to be assessed at some later date, your chances of getting the higher existing rate of the health element, rather than the new lower rate, will depend on you meeting the severe conditions criteria.

A disabled person who gets Universal Credit, has been assessed as having a limited capability for work only and whose condition has deteriorated

You can ask Universal Credit to reassess you for LCWRA. So long as you do this on or before 5 April, and they agree you have LCWRA, you will qualify for the health element at the higher rate.

You do not need to submit a fit note in this scenario. A message in your online account should be suffice.  You should declare a new or worsened health condition in the “report a change” section of your Universal Credit account. Also state in your online journal that you are asking for a reassessment of whether you have LCWRA.

However, you need to be aware that asking for a reassessment carries risks. It’s possible that the DWP instead decide that you are fit to work. If that happens, you could be left worse off.

Note: If you have a partner and they already qualify for a health element, you cannot get a second one. There will be no financial gain in asking for a reassessment in this case.

Which new claimants will get the higher rate?

While all existing claimants are guaranteed the higher rate health element payment, new claimants will also get a higher rate if either:

• They are terminally ill.
• They meet new severe conditions criteria.

All other new claimants will get the new lower rate of the health element.

What are the severe conditions criteria?

To meet the severe conditions criteria, you must show that all of the below apply:

• You have a condition that has been diagnosed by an appropriately qualified NHS healthcare professional. Government ministers have said this covers not just a diagnosis carried out by NHS staff. A private diagnosis carried out in line with NHS best practice, and which has been accepted in your NHS records, will count.
• Your condition will last for the rest of your life.
• Your level of function must mean you would “constantly” meet one of the LCWRA descriptors “on all occasions on which the claimant undertakes or attempts to undertake an activity”. This is likely to mean that you cannot have prolonged periods where there is a recovery of function to the extent you don’t meet that LCWRA criteria.

Existing claimants can get the health element without needing to meet these additional severe conditions criteria.

Special rules that protect ESA claimants

The general rule is that you must have claimed Universal Credit on or before 5 April.

However, there is an exception to this. Special rules say that someone getting Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and whose award already includes a support component is protected as an existing claimant. This is the case even though they claim Universal Credit after 5 April.

This rule protects disabled adults with an ESA award where there has been some delay migrating over to Universal Credit.

My 18 year old son doesn’t get Universal Credit yet as he is still receiving education. He won’t get Universal Credit until the summer when his course ends. However, he has already established LCWRA via a “credits-only” claim for ESA. Will he be protected as an existing claimant?

Unfortunately not. The special rules for ESA claimants only apply to those who are actually getting ESA itself. It doesn’t apply to young people who only established LCWRA via a ‘credits only’ claim and don’t get ESA.

He therefore won’t be protected as as an existing claimant as he will be claiming Universal Credit after 5 April. A young person who has established LCWRA via a ‘credits-only’ claim for ESA will only be protected as a pre-2026 claimant if they manage to successfully claim Universal Credit on or before 5 April.

If they can’t claim Universal Credit until a later due to their education, their chances of getting the higher rather than lower rate of the health element will depend on them meeting the new severe conditions criteria.

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