Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps has she taken to ensure that work capability assessments take account of the fluctuating nature of degenerative illnesses.

The Work Capability Assessment has been designed to take full account of progressive conditions such as Parkinson’s. If an individual has a progressive health condition, the Healthcare Professional takes this into consideration when providing advice to the Decision Maker.

Healthcare Professionals are trained to ask about and take account of fluctuation.

The assessment gives people with fluctuating conditions the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time.

The capability for work questionnaire directly asks if a person’s condition varies in how it impacts on their ability to complete activities over time, and if so to give details of how this affects them as an individual.