Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the removal of the work-related activity component for employment support allowance on the incomes of claimants in the work-related activity group.

There are no cash losers among those in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Universal Credit equivalent prior to April 2017, including those who temporarily leave ESA to try out work and then return.

New claimants from April, who are capable of preparing for work, receive a rate of benefits on a par with Jobseeker’s Allowance.

The Government published its assessment of the impacts of the change to the work-related activity component on 20 July 2015. http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006B.pdf