Petition · past parliament

Repeal the Welfare Reform Act 2012

Closed 16,861 signatures

Government response · 28 March 2013

As this e-petition has received more than 10 000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response:

The Government believes that it should be encouraging greater responsibility and fairness in the welfare system. That means providing help for those who cannot work, and training and targeted support for those looking for work. The 2012 Welfare Reform Act introduced a wide range of reforms to make the benefits and tax credits system fairer and simpler by creating the right incentives to get more people into work, protecting the most vulnerable in our society, and delivering fairness to those claiming benefit and to the tax payer.

The nation’s finances also need to be put on a more sustainable footing – while this means making difficult decisions on tax and spending, we believe it is possible to do this and help people lift themselves out of poverty, and stay out of poverty, through work and saving backed by the right support and encouragement.

This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold.

Timeline

12 Nov 2012 Petition opened for signatures
28 Feb 2013 Passed 10,000 signatures, requiring a government response
28 Mar 2013 Government responded
12 Nov 2013 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 16,861
Status Closed
Opened 12 Nov 2012
Closed 12 Nov 2013
Response 28 Mar 2013

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.