The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 35) (Abolition of Benefits) Order 2025
Source: legislation.gov.uk (2025-11-03)

This Order is a further stage in the replacement of six benefits with universal credit (“UC”).

Statutory Instruments

2025 No. 1148 (C. 55)

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 35) (Abolition of Benefits) Order 2025

Made

29th October 2025

The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 150(3) and (4)(a) and (c) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012(1 (\"#f00001\")).

Citation and Interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 35) (Abolition of Benefits) Order 2025.

(2) In this Order—

“the 2007 Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2007(2 (\"#f00002\"));

“the Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

“the amending provisions” means the provisions referred to in article 4(1)(a) to (c) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions and Commencement No. 8 and Savings and Transitional Provisions (Amendment)) Order 2013(3 (\"#f00003\"));

“contributory allowance” and “income-related allowance” in relation to an award of old style ESA have the meaning given by section 1(7) of the 2007 Act;

“housing benefit” means housing benefit under section 130 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(4 (\"#f00004\"));

“income support” means income support under section 124 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning as in the Jobseekers Act 1995(5 (\"#f00005\"));

“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the 2007 Act;

“old style ESA” means an employment and support allowance under Part 1 of the 2007 Act as it has effect apart from the amendments made by Schedule 3, and Part 1 of Schedule 14, to the Act that remove references to an income-related allowance and references to an award of old style ESA shall be construed accordingly;

“old style JSA” means a jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995 as it has effect apart from the amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 14 to the Act that remove references to an income-based jobseeker’s allowance and references to an award of old style JSA shall be construed accordingly;

“the Transitional Regulations” means the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014(6 (\"#f00006\"));

“two week run-on period” means the period referred to in regulation 8(2A)(7 (\"#f00007\")) or 46(1)(a)(8 (\"#f00008\")) of the Transitional Regulations or regulation 5(1) of the Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019(9 (\"#f00009\")).

Conversion of contributory old style ESA

2.—(1) The day appointed for the coming into force of the amending provisions in the case of an award of old style ESA in respect of which the claimant—

(a)is entitled to the contributory allowance but not the income-related allowance, or

(b)is entitled to both the contributory allowance and the income-related allowance and section 6(4) of the 2007 Act (allowance treated as attributable to entitlement to the contributory allowance where the amount payable does not exceed the personal rate) applies,

is as follows.

(2) In the case of an award where either of the conditions in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) applies on 1st December 2025, the day appointed is 1st December 2025.

(3) In any other case, the day appointed is the first day on which either of those conditions applies.

Claimant commitment on conversion of contributory old style ESA

3.—(1) Where the amending provisions come into force in relation to an award of old style ESA in accordance with article 2 (conversion of contributory old style ESA) the Secretary of State may, for so long as the Secretary of State considers necessary to protect the efficient administration of employment and support allowance, delay the preparation of a claimant commitment in accordance with section 11A(10 (\"#f00010\")) of the 2007 Act.

(2) Section 1(3)(aa)(11 (\"#f00011\")) of the 2007 Act (acceptance of claimant commitment to be a condition of entitlement to employment and support allowance) is not to apply during any period for which the preparation of a claimant commitment is delayed under paragraph (1).

Abolition of income-based jobseeker’s allowance

4. The day appointed for the coming into force of the amending provisions in the case of an award of old style JSA in respect of which those provisions—

(a)have not yet come into force, and

(b)are not due to come into force, or to be treated as coming into force, at the end of a two week run-on period,

is 1st April 2026.

Abolition of income support

5. The day appointed for the coming into force of section 33(1)(c) of the Act (abolition of income support) in respect of an award of income support that—

(a)has not yet been terminated by virtue of regulation 7(2), 8(2A) or 46(1)(a) of the Transitional Regulations, and

(b)is not due to terminate at the end of a two week run-on period,

is 1st April 2026.

Abolition of housing benefit for working age claimants who cease to occupy temporary accommodation or specified accommodation

6.—(1) The day appointed for the coming into force of section 33(1)(d) of the Act (abolition of housing benefit) in relation to an award of housing benefit where the claimant—

(a)is not entitled to universal credit, income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance or an income-related employment and support allowance,

(b)does not fall within regulation 6A(3) to (5) of the Transitional Regulations(12 (\"#f00012\")) (exemption from restrictions on claims for housing benefit for persons over the qualifying age for state pension credit etc.), and

(c)is entitled to that award in respect of temporary accommodation or specified accommodation,

is any day falling on or after 14th November 2025 that is the day after the last day on which the claimant is entitled to housing benefit in respect of accommodation of that description.

(2) In this article “specified accommodation” and “temporary accommodation” have the same meaning as in the Transitional Regulations.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Stephen Timms

Minister of State

Department for Work and Pensions

29th October 2025

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order is a further stage in the replacement of six benefits with universal credit (“UC”).

The Order appoints the dates for ending future entitlement to income support and income-based jobseeker’s allowance for all claimants and for ending future entitlement to income-related employment and support allowance in relation to claimants currently receiving only the contributory allowance in an award of old style ESA. It also ends awards of housing benefit where working age claimants cease to occupy temporary or supported accommodation.

The references in this Order to “old style JSA” and “old style ESA” are to awards of jobseeker’s allowance and employment and support allowance in respect of which the amending provisions have not yet come into force. The amending provisions include subsection (1)(a) and (b) of section 33 (abolition of benefits) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (“the Act”) and amendments to the Jobseekers Act 1995 (c.18) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/1995/18\") and Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (c.5) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2007/5\") that remove references to the income-related elements of those benefits.

The amending provisions are the mechanism for terminating awards of income-based jobseeker’s allowance and income-related employment and support allowance. They come into force when the claimant makes a claim for UC or forms a couple with a universal credit claimant. They are treated as coming into force when a claimant who has been issued with a migration notice fails to make a claim for universal credit by the deadline.

Article 2 brings the amending provisions into force on 1st December 2025 for awards of old style ESA where the amount the claimant receives is wholly attributable to the contributory allowance (including where they have entitlement to both the contributory and income-related allowance but the former is greater). This will prevent entitlement to the income-related allowance arising in future if the claimant’s circumstances change. It will also convert the award to the “new style” employment and support allowance. Where an award of old style ESA is not wholly attributable to the contributory allowance on 1st December 2025 but is so on a subsequent day, for example if the claimant’s income increases so that they no longer have the income-related entitlement, the amending provisions will come into force on that day.

Article 3 deals with the obligation on the Secretary of State to prepare a claimant commitment where an award of old style ESA is converted to the new style allowance under article 2. That obligation is delayed for such period as is necessary to protect the efficient administration of the allowance.

Article 4 deals with old style JSA. The amending provisions come into force for any remaining cases on 1st April 2026. This does not affect the two week run-on period in the case of a claimant who has made a claim for UC or been issued with a migration notice and failed to claim by the deadline.

Article 5 deals with income support. Section 33(1)(c) of the Act (which provides for abolition of income support) is brought into force for any remaining cases, except those in a run-on period, on 1st April 2026.

Article 6 deals with housing benefit. Claimants who occupy temporary accommodation and certain types of supported accommodation (referred to in this Order as “specified accommodation”) are not covered by the housing costs element in UC and may therefore claim housing benefit by virtue of regulation 6A of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1230 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2014/1230\")).

Where a claimant who is already entitled to UC moves from such accommodation into general accommodation, housing benefit will automatically cease and they may qualify for the housing costs element of UC. Article 6 provides the mechanism for ending housing benefit in a case where the claimant is not already entitled to UC and is not being moved to UC by managed migration. Where the move to general accommodation occurs on or after 14th November 2025, section 33(1)(d) (which provides for abolition of housing benefit) is brought into force in relation to the existing award. This terminates the current award but does not prevent a new claim for housing benefit if the claimant subsequently qualifies under regulation 6A.

NOTE AS TO EARLIER COMMENCEMENT ORDERS

(This note is not part of the Order)

The following provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c. 5) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2012/5\") were brought into force by a Statutory Instrument which was made before this Order was made.

Section 45

(1)

2012 c. 5 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2012/5\").

(2)

2007 c. 5 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2007/5\").

(3)

S.I. 2013/983 (C. 41) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2013/983\"). Article 4 was substituted by 2014/1452 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2014/1452\").

(4)

1992 c. 4 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/1992/4\").

(5)

1995 c. 18 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/1995/18\").

(6)

S.I. 2014/1230 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2014/1230\").

(7)

Inserted by S.I. 2018/65 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2018/65\").

(8)

Inserted by S.I. 2019/1152 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2019/1152\").

(9)

S.I. 2019/1152 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2019/1152\").

(10)

Section 11A was inserted by section 57(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012.

(11)

Section 1(3)(aa) was inserted by section 54(2) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012.

(12)

Regulation 6A was inserted by S.I. 2022/752 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2022/752\").

(13)

S.I. 2012/1246 (C. 42) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2012/1246\") was amended by S.I. 2012/1440 (C. 55) (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2012/1440\") and 2530 (\"http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2012/2530\") (C. 102).