Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support claimants who are awaiting a work capability assessment for contributions based employment and support allowance and whose assessment will not be able to take place before their award ends.

We are committed to assessing people as quickly as possible in order that they receive the benefit they are entitled to. Unfortunately, some Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) for contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA(C) claimants were not completed as quickly as we would have liked due to the the Covid-19 pandemic. The resumption of face-to-face assessments, together with enhanced telephony assessment processes, now allow us to assess all cases. We are prioritising assessments for contributory Employment and Support Allowance claims that have exhausted or are at risk of exhausting.

Furthermore, the measures we implemented during the pandemic remain in place to support ESA(C) claimants at risk of exhausting before a WCA. This includes a dedicated operational team to identify contributory ESA claims that we can progress without face-to-face assessment – for instance, those where further evidence might exist on other DWP benefit systems. If claimants have further evidence they think might help progress their claim, they should contact the Department.

Claimants whose ESA(C) exhausts before they have had a WCA should continue to supply medical evidence (i.e. Fit Notes). This will ensure that their claim can be reinstated if they are found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) at a future WCA, with any arrears of the LCWRA component paid in full.

Where an individual’s contributory ESA ends, they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.