What does the 2023 spring budget mean for people with Parkinson’s?

Help with energy costs extended

The chancellor announced today that the Energy Price Guarantee, which caps typical energy costs for a household at £2,500, has been extended for a further 3 months. This means support will now end in July 2023 rather than on 1 April. 

This follows a campaign led by MoneySavingExpert which Parkinson’s UK was pleased to support. Read more about the campaign on the MoneySavingExpert website.

We also welcome moves that will see energy prices paid by households with prepayment meters brought in line with those who pay via direct debit.

While this is a step in the right direction, we believe people with Parkinson’s have received nowhere near enough support with energy costs. We’ve been calling for the government to boost support for people with Parkinson’s by £1,200 to help them keep their homes warm enough to manage symptoms. 

Disability employment support 

Today, the government has also published its proposals for the future of disability benefits. This includes a package of measures to support people who are disabled and looking for work. Read the "Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper" on the GOV.UK website.

The chancellor has said that "those who can work, should work" and acknowledges that for many people, there are barriers preventing them from moving into work and that people claiming Universal Credit need to be incentivised to get into work.

Key measures include:

• Abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). 
• A new programme to support disabled people back to work called Universal Support.
• More funding for occupational health in smaller workplaces. 

The removal of the WCA will also mean that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment will be the only route to accessing disability-related financial support. But PIP assessment criteria do not reflect the complex reality of living with Parkinson’s. 

If even greater emphasis is to be placed on the PIP assessment process as the gateway to financial support, we believe it must be reformed and we are committed to working with the Department for Work and Pensions to address this. 

Preventing early retirement of NHS doctors

The chancellor said he was committed to reducing early retirement by NHS doctors as part of a larger plan for reforms to the NHS workforce which will be published soon. 

To do this, he announced that he will increase the annual tax-free allowance for pensions by 50%, and abolish the lifetime allowance for pensions altogether. He believes that this will encourage over 80% of NHS doctors not to take early retirement. 

Approvals process for medicines reformed

From 2024, there will be a new process for approving medicines that are licensed for use in the UK. The government wants to allow "rapid, near automatic sign-off" for new medications approved elsewhere in the world. It wants to make medicine approvals easy, so people can benefit from them as quickly as possible.

Another mixed picture for people with Parkinson’s

Laura Cockram, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Parkinson’s UK, said:

"While we welcome the chancellor’s extension of the Energy Price Guarantee in today’s budget, it was disappointing not to see more targeted support for people with Parkinson’s who are among those hit hardest by spiralling household fuel costs. Keeping warm is vital for people with Parkinson’s to help manage their symptoms of stiffness, pain and rigidity. 

"While the disability benefit system needs urgent reform to make sure people with Parkinson’s are able to access the support they’re entitled to, we're underwhelmed by today’s proposals. However, we’ll continue to feed in the experiences of people with the condition to shape and improve the system. 

"Speedy medicine approval for NHS use, as long as safety standards are maintained, could help accelerate access to Parkinson’s drugs to people with the condition, so we welcome this move. 

"While we welcome plans to retain experienced doctors, we are eagerly awaiting the NHS workforce plan, which the chancellor said will be published 'shortly'. It’s vital that this comes forward at the earliest opportunity to reassure people with Parkinson’s who continue to face long waits for diagnosis and treatment."

Our next steps

We will brief MPs and members of the Lords on the impact of the budget on people living with Parkinson's so that they are prepared for the debates over the coming days.