Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to introduce new rules which will not require reassessments for employment and support allowance for people with severe life-long conditions; and if he will publish the criteria by which severe life-long conditions are defined as such for the purposes of exemption from those assessments.

This change will come into effect in Autumn 2017 and will apply to those placed in Employment and Support Allowance’s Support Group and the Universal Credit equivalent.

We are currently working with stakeholders to develop the new criteria and, when finalised, the amended guidance will be incorporated in to the next update to the Work Capability Assessment Handbook published on GOV.UK.