Welfare bill will not be included in government's King's Speech

Sir Keir Starmer has not included a second attempt to reform welfare in Wednesday's King's Speech, the BBC has learnt.

The prime minister's first attempt to make significant changes to the welfare system, including restricting eligibility for some health-related benefits, resulted in a mass revolt of Labour MPs and an embarrassing climbdown for the government in June 2025.

Since then ministers have announced a pair of reviews designed to generate new ideas, as well as a handful of measures designed to incentivise more people to work.

But it is understood that the government is not yet ready to propose a new parliamentary bill on welfare, so it will not form part of Wednesday's proceedings.

The speech is when the King formally unveils the government's agenda for the next year or so.

It means that any new legislation on welfare will not even be introduced to Parliament until mid-2027 at the earliest, despite the policy area being one of the government's main priorities.

The decision to hold off on another welfare bill may be welcomed by some of those Labour MPs who forced the prime minister to back down last time, but is also likely to be held up by some other Labour MPs as a sign of the prime minister's growing inability to drive an agenda through government.

A government source stressed that they were making reforms in this area without new legislation, such as "right to try" rules meaning people with health conditions can undertake work without necessarily having their benefits reassessed, and a guarantee of paid work placements for 18 to 21-year-olds who have been out of work or education for over 18 months.

A major constraint on the government's ability to pursue new legislation in this area is the Timms Review, a review of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system which the government committed to as part of its climbdown on benefit cuts last year.

It is being led by Sir Stephen Timms, a government minister, as well as organisations which represent disabled people.

This review has not yet reported back, but an interim report is expected to be published around July and then a final report will be published later in the year.

Separately, a report by Alan Milburn, a former health secretary under Sir Tony Blair, into the rising number of young people not working or studying is due to be published in the next few weeks.

Milburn, whose report was commissioned by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, has made a series of comments during his work which could prove provocative with Labour MPs, including that Britain is "writing off" a generation of young people with "normal" mental health conditions.

A government source said: "The system we inherited is not fit for purpose, and we are determined to change it and spread opportunity as the best way to tackle welfare dependency. The pieces of work we've commissioned will inform legislation we bring forward."

Even in the event of a change of leadership, this King's Speech could set the legislative parameters for a new prime minister unless they were chosen by the Labour Party specifically to radically alter the government's agenda.

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