Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that people moving from Employment Support Allowance Support Group to Universal Credit do not require a further fit note.

We want the migration process to be as simple as possible for claimants when they move their claim to Universal Credit (UC) from Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). If they have been receiving ESA, they will not need to provide medical evidence such as fit notes, or have a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) again if all of the following apply:

• They move from ESA to UC without a break
• They have already completed a WCA
• They were in the ‘support group’ or ‘work related activity group’ in ESA when they made their claim to Universal Credit.

If they were providing medical evidence on ESA before they moved, they will still need to provide medical evidence on Universal Credit until a WCA decision is received.