Easy News: Changes to disability benefits rules in the Spring Budget 2023

1. 

   In March, the Government told everyone about the new Budget. The Budget explains what they will be spending money on, and how people will be taxed.

2. 

   The Budget had many changes this year. Here are some we think might be important for you.

3. 

   Right now, the government does a Work Capability Assessment if you want to get disability benefits. They are sometimes called “Fit to Work" tests. The government tests to see how much work you can do with your physical or mental health condition.

4. 

   These tests will be stopped. The Government does not want people to worry about losing their benefits if they agree to work. The only test people will need is their Personal Independence Payment test.

5. 

   The Government will try a new volunteer employment scheme for disabled people and people with health conditions called Universal Support.

6. 

   There will also be stricter rules for paying money to people who are on Universal Credit. People's benefits might stop if they miss too many meetings at the Job Centre, or do not agree to do jobs that Job Centre work coaches think they should do.

7. 

   The Government will continue their Energy Price Guarantee. The Energy Price Guarantee means that the average household will not pay more than £2,500 per year for electricity and gas if they pay by Direct Debit. What people pay will still depend on how much gas or electricity they use.

8. 

   The Government has stopped its Energy Bills Support Scheme. That was when the Government gave people discounts on their energy bills for 6 months from October 2022 to March 2023.

9. 

   The Government has said that parents of young children will get some free childcare. If both parents are working, the government will pay for 15 hours of free childcare each week for children aged 2 from April 2024, and for children aged 9 months from September 2024.

10. 

    The Government will not make people pay more tax on fuel than they do already. The price of fuel may increase for other reasons though.

11. 

    The Government will increase the tax people pay when buying cigarettes and alcohol like beer and wine. But people will pay less tax on draught beer they buy from a pub.

12. 

    These are only some of the things that were in the Spring Budget. If you want to read about other things that were mentioned, you can find the full Budget on the Gov.UK website (This is not written in Easy Read.)

13. 

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