Employment and Support Allowance
(asked on 22nd February 2021) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to provide increased support to employment and support allowance claimants awaiting face-to-face assessments for higher rate benefits.
The health and safety of our claimants and staff is our key priority. We suspended all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits in March 2020. This temporary suspension, brought in to protect people from unnecessary risk of coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic, remains in place, and is being kept under review in line with the latest public health guidance. Any re-introduction of face-to-face assessments would involve stringent Covid-19 related safety measures, supported by guidance for claimants and assessment providers to ensure compliance with the relevant public health guidance.
Eligible Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants will receive the Assessment Rate of benefit for the first 13 weeks (this rate will increase by 0.5% in April in line with the Consumer Price Index). At present, claimants may stay on this rate for longer than usual.
However, throughout the pandemic we have continued to assess people on paper evidence, using this route whenever possible. We also introduced telephone assessments providing limited outcomes in June 2020, building capacity and capability since then which has enabled us to provide the full range of outcomes from the beginning of February. By doing this, we will ensure that claimants receive their correct benefit entitlement as quickly as possible and reduce the time claimants who may be entitled to a higher award having to wait for their assessment.
Therefore, if a claimant qualifies for an additional amount following their Work Capability Assessment (WCA), it will be backdated to the 14th week to ensure no long-term loss.
Where an individual’s contributory ESA ends, if they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.