Ministers to offer olive branch on welfare bill to avert rebellion

Ministers are to offer mutinous Labour MPs an olive branch on the government's welfare plans to help avert a major rebellion in a crucial vote early next month.

- Pippa Crerar

Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, wants to reassure MPs who have threatened to rebel over fears sick and disabled people would be hardest hit.

The Guardian has been told she will put "non-negotiable" protections for the most vulnerable benefits recipients on the face of the welfare reform bill when it is published next week, providing additional support to those with the most severe conditions who will never work.

But with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, ruling out a U-turn on disability benefit cuts and government aides insisting there will be no substantial change to the bill, it is unclear whether the tweaks will be enough to prevent a rebellion that could even risk a defeat.

Labour MPs are demanding major changes to the proposals put forward in March in the welfare green paper, including a rethink on eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip) for disabled people and benefits for carers.

Kendall's plans to save £5bn a year by overhauling the welfare system, including by cutting Pip, triggered alarm among Labour MPs, with experts saying up to 1.2 million people with disabilities are expected to lose thousands of pounds every year.

With an extra 250,000 people falling into relative poverty by 2029-30, according to the government's own impact assessment, ministers are braced for their biggest rebellion yet, with as many as 170 MPs warning they could vote against the plans.

After a consultation on the biggest shake-up of Britain's welfare system since universal credit was introduced more than a decade ago, and discussions with multiple MPs, Kendall is offering a series of modifications to help alleviate concerns.