The King’s Speech 2026: key points for disabled people

King Charles has set out the Government’s policy priorities and proposed legislation for the new parliamentary session in the King’s Speech to the House of Lords, marking the State Opening of Parliament.

Although read by the King, the speech is written by the Government and includes bills to abolish NHS England, overhaul the criminal justice and special educational needs and disabilities systems, tackle social housing and youth employment issues, and review Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

But what are the implications for disabled people and their families?

SEND and education

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) were among the policy priorities in the King’s Speech and will be legislated for through the “Education for All” bill. This will be subject to the ongoing consultation on the Schools White Paper.

The King said “that the United Kingdom should be a country fair for all and a place where every child is included in the nation’s highest aspirations.

He added: “My Ministers believe that every child deserves the chance to succeed to the best of his or her ability and not be held back due to poverty, special educational needs, or a lack of respect for vocational education…A Bill will be brought forward to raise standards in schools and introduce generational reforms of the special educational needs system [Education for All Bill].”

Responses

Carole Willis, Chief Executive of National Foundation for Education Research (NFER), said: “After years of mounting pressure on the SEND system, it is positive to see plans, included in the Education for All Bill designed to strengthen support for children and young people with SEND, including investment in inclusion bases in mainstream schools.

“Our research suggests that, if implemented well, inclusion bases could help mainstream schools strengthen specialist expertise, improve access to support, and promote closer multi-agency working. However, our evidence on impact of their predecessors, Resourced Provision and SEN Units, is mixed highlighting that successful implementation will be key.

“Successful implementation will depend not only on funding, but on ensuring schools have access to the workforce capacity, training and specialist expertise needed to deliver inclusive practice effectively. As reforms develop, it will be important that accountability, admissions, and resourcing arrangements support all schools to play their part in inclusive education.”

Harriet Edwards, Director of Influencing at the national disability charity Sense, added that the government’s commitment to deliver the desperately needed reforms is welcomed, as this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix a system that is failing 1.7 million children across the country.

She said: “But those changes must improve children’s life chances, not weaken them further. The government must ensure these new laws strengthen – not dilute – every disabled child’s legal right to education. Families who are already exhausted should no longer be forced to fight at every stage for the support their children need. A joined-up, properly funded workforce is also essential to delivering meaningful change. If the government fails to listen to disabled families and act boldly now, this opportunity to transform young lives will be lost, and another generation of disabled children will be left behind. That must not happen.”

Welfare reform

The King’s speech said that the government will respond to “the Timms Review” and continue to reform the welfare system to support both young and disabled people in flourishing at work, as the basis for long-term economic security. However, it did not include a bill to reform welfare.

Following the Universal Credit Act, PIP reform was postponed until at least 2026 to give disabled individuals and those with long-term health conditions the chance to share their views on how PIP should be reformed.

The Timms Review is co-chaired by Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sharron Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. They will oversee a steering group comprising 15 people who bring together lived experience and diverse perspectives across areas including welfare policy, accessibility, advocacy, co-production, governance, and leadership within Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs).

It is seeking evidence on topics including how effectively PIP is delivering on its intended purpose, whether the PIP assessment provides fair access to the right support, whether the experience of claiming PIP varies across different groups, and how changes in the workplace and wider society since 2013 have impacted PIP.

The Call for Evidence runs until 28 May, and anyone can respond. Those with lived or learned experience of PIP, including disabled people, the organisations that represent them, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs, and other elected officials across the UK, are particularly encouraged to do so.

Employment and young people

The King said that the Government will respond to the Milburn Review and “Ministers will continue to invest in apprenticeships and measures that tackle youth unemployment.”

The Milburn Review was launched in November last year and is led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn. It will examine why increasing numbers of young people are falling out of work or education before their careers have begun, with a particular focus on the impact of mental health conditions and disability.

It comes as nearly one million young people—approximately one in eight young people aged 16 to 24—are currently not in education, employment, or training (NEET).

Over a quarter of NEET young people now cite long-term sickness or disability as a barrier to participation, compared to just 12% in 2013/14. Further to this, the number of young people claiming UC health and Employment Support Allowance has increased by more than 50% in the last five years, with 80% of young people on the UC Health element currently citing mental health reasons or a neurodevelopmental condition among declared health conditions.

Housing

Social housing was also mentioned in the speech, with the King saying that housing can be a source of insecurity for many people.  A Social Housing Renewal Bill would exempt newly built social homes in England from Right to Buy for 35 years, and introduce new protections for social tenants who are victims of domestic abuse to stay in their property.

People with disabilities rely heavily on specialised supported housing, which has faced serious funding and staffing challenges. Campaigners have previously warned that changes to social rent provisions could make private investment in supported living schemes difficult.

Changes to the Right to Buy scheme could also help safeguard the overall pool of social housing, keeping vital, adapted accessible properties available for those on waiting lists.

Healthcare

The King’s Speech included bills to abolish NHS England via the NHS Modernisation Bill, with many of its powers returning to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

The bill will also aim to establish a new electronic “single patient record’ to enable primary and secondary care clinicians to access patient information more rapidly and to make it easier for patients to receive care. Patients will be able to view their records in the NHS App starting in 2028.

Health Thinktank The King’s Fund said that the changes will represent one of the most significant NHS restructures in recent years, with potentially far-reaching implications for how care is delivered, managed and held accountable.

Improve patient experiences

Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King‘s Fund, said: ‘The government has said it wants to devolve power from Whitehall and give patients more control over their care. There is a danger that the Bill creates the opposite impression, of a government pulling power back to the centre and disbanding the independent organisations set up to listen to patients and ensure their voices are heard across health and care services. Many of the Bill’s provisions won’t make much difference to patients day to day, because they focus on how the NHS is organised rather than on care itself.

‘Potentially the greatest opportunity it offers to improve patient experience is the intention to create a Single Patient Record by joining up health and care records, something successive governments have promised but struggled to deliver. With the right safeguards in place, patients and staff are supportive of this and can’t understand why it doesn’t already exist. This would give patients, and different health and care professionals, access to a single, shared record linking primary and secondary care information and social care data.

‘Time and again, patients and carers are left in the dark when it comes to being updated about their care, with the impact most shockingly being that some patients are put off seeking care in the future. A Single Patient Record could be a real gamechanger, facilitating joined-up communication that will impact how people feel in waiting rooms, at home and in hospitals. But more ambitious action to improve people’s day-to-day experience of NHS admin could significantly boost public satisfaction with the NHS and, in turn, how people judge the government in guiding it.”

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today.

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