Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 53 of the Government's White Paper entitled Improving lives: the future of work, health and disability, in November 2017, what progress her Department has made with Initiative No.5 on reform of the work capability assessment; and if she will make a statement.

We are committed to assessing people with health conditions and disabilities fairly and accurately, helping people to access the right support. We made a clear commitment in Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability to reform the Work Capability Assessment and recognise the importance of getting this right. We are therefore testing new approaches to build the evidence base for what works, and working with external stakeholders to inform future changes to the WCA. We have established a policy forum, with a focused group of academics, think tanks and disability charities to bring together evidence for reform options and will also gather views from wider stakeholder groups, including individuals with lived experience of disability.