Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the employment and support allowance assessment criteria to tackle the difficulties faced by applicants suffering with mental health problems including anxiety and depression.

We are committed to ensuring that the WCA assesses people fairly and accurately, which is why we keep our processes under review. Since ESA was introduced, we have made a number of changes to strengthen the assessment process for people with mental health conditions. We took forward a number of recommendations from Professor Harrington and Dr Litchfield who independently reviewed the WCA, including redesigning the ESA50 claimant questionnaire to make it clear that evidence from healthcare professionals and advocates is particularly valuable in mental health cases.

More information regarding these independent reviews can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-capability-assessment-independent-review-year-1