Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the operation of (a) income-based ESA or (b) contribution-based ESA following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment announced in Transforming Future Support: The Health and Disability White Paper published in March 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Our income replacement benefit proposals, as set out in Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, will apply to Universal Credit. It is not possible to submit a new claim for income-related ESA.
As part of our proposal to improve the design of the benefits system, the UK Government is committed to maintaining a contributory health and disability benefit. We are currently reviewing options on how this can be incorporated within the reforms set out in the White Paper.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published on 15 March 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional financial support to people assessed to have limited capability for work-related activity for Universal Credit but who are not entitled to the Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We will put protections in place to ensure that no one experiences financial loss at the point at which the reform is enacted. For the group who receive the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity payment, but not Personal Independence Payment, there will be transitional protection at the point that they move to the new system.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a new assessment will be introduced for Personal Independence Payment to take account of the end of the work capability assessment.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper announced that we will legislate to remove the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) so that in future there will only be one health and disability assessment, the PIP assessment.
This will remove the need to be found to have limited capability for work and limited capability to prepare for work to receive additional income-related support for a disability or health condition, giving people confidence that they will receive support, for as long as it is needed, regardless of whether they are working.
In today’s benefits system some people that receive the Universal Credit health element as a result of being determined to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity do not receive Personal Independence Payment. This is also the case for some people that are in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group.
For this group, we will carefully consider whether they meet the PIP assessment and eligibility criteria. As we develop our reform proposals, we will consider how disabled people and people with health conditions who need additional financial support may receive it.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published in March 2023, whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that disabled people who are not eligible for the Personal Independence Payment receive the new Universal Credit health element if they are unable to work.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We want the system to continue to support those most in need, while recognising people shouldn’t need to be found to have limited capability for work and work-related-activity to access additional income-related support.
For the group who receive LCWRA but not PIP, we will carefully consider whether they meet the PIP assessment and eligibility criteria.
We are committed to protecting those claimants who are currently treated as LCWRA due to pregnancy risk, or because they are about to receive, receiving, or recovering from, treatment for cancer, by way of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We will provide explicit provision to allow these claimants to access the new UC health top-up, even when they are not in receipt of PIP.
Any LCWRA recipients who are not also in receipt of PIP at the point that they move to the new system, and whose circumstances remain unchanged, will receive transitional protection.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Universal Credit assessments for people with (a) autism and (b) other non-visible disabilities.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) determines entitlement to the additional health-related amount of Universal Credit (UC), as well as Employment and Support Allowance. It assesses the impact of an individual’s health condition or disability, not the condition itself. The assessment criteria cover the full range of conditions: physical, mental, cognitive and/or behavioural.
We are committed to supporting people, including those who have autism and other non-visible disabilities, through the assessment process. Healthcare professionals conducting the WCA receive training on autism, as well as other non-visible disabilities.
In Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published on 15 March 2023, we announced that we will legislate to remove the WCA and introduce a new UC health element linked to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), so that in future there is only one health and disability assessment – the PIP assessment. This will mean that there will be no need to be found to have limited capability for work and limited capability for work-related activity to get additional income-related support for a disability or health condition. Removing the WCA will reduce the number of assessments people need to take to access their benefits and enable us to provide more personalised levels of support in a new system.
The degree of change in our proposals will require primary legislation which we will aim to take early in a new parliament, when parliamentary time allows. These reforms will then be rolled out to new claims only on a staged, geographical basis, from 2026/27. We expect the new claims roll out to be completed by 2029, when we will then move the existing caseload onto the new system.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published on 15 March 2023, what additional work coach support is being offered to (a) people on Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance awaiting their work capability assessment and (b) people who have been found to have limited capability for work or work-related activity but would like help to move into work as part of the initial trial across a third of Jobcentres.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Additional Work Coach support provides increased one-to-one, personalised Work Coach support for people with health conditions receiving Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance to help them make progress towards and into work. In addition to direct Work Coach support, this will enable disabled people and people with health conditions to access wider skills support and our employment programmes earlier.
Claimants awaiting their Work Capability Assessment, and claimants following their Work Capability Assessment found to have limited capability for work can receive support from their Work Coach equivalent to 30 minutes every fortnight. These appointments are tailored to the individual’s needs using the most appropriate channel for support including face to face, telephone, video conference, or digital appointments for Universal Credit customers.
Claimants that have been found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity, who want support, will be able to access support from their Work Coach equivalent to 30 minutes every month.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published on 15 March 2023, which Jobcentres are included in the trial of extra work coach support for people on universal credit and employment support allowance currently awaiting their work capability assessment and for people who have been found to have limited capability for work or work-related activity but would like help to move into work.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Additional Work Coach Support has been trialled and it is available in all Jobcentres within 12 districts, as listed below. This is one-third of Jobcentres.
These districts are – Birmingham and Solihull, Cumbria and Lancashire, Devon and Cornwall, East London, East Scotland, Essex, Kent, Lincoln Nottingham and Rutland, Merseyside, Northumberland Tyne and Wear, South West Wales, West Scotland.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to scrap Work Capability Assessments on people receiving (a) Employment and Support Allowance and (b) the health-related elements of Universal Credit who do not receive Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We will put protections in place to ensure that no one experiences financial loss at the point at which the reform is enacted. For the group who receive the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) payment, but not Personal Independence Payment, there will be transitional protection at the point that they move to the new system.
We are committed to protecting those claimants who are currently treated as LCWRA due to pregnancy risk, or because they are about to receive, receiving, or recovering from, treatment for cancer by way of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We will provide explicit provision to allow these claimants to access the new UC health top-up, even when they are not in receipt of PIP.
These reforms will be rolled out on a gradual, geographical basis, starting with new claims from 2026/27 and reaching existing claims from 2029 onwards at the earliest.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference the policy paper, Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published in March 2023, if he will make an assessment of the (a) demographic and (b) socioeconomic characteristics of those who claim the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit and do not receive Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The department aims to publish a range of information on claimants of the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit in due course, and will pre-announce any publication in line with normal statistical practices.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will introduce online application portals for (a) Work Capability Assessment, (b) Attendance Allowance and (c) Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
a) The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) determines entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the additional health-related amount of Universal Credit (UC). Claimants are invited to participate in a WCA as part of a claim to ESA or a declaration of restricted ability to work in UC. Claimants can apply for New Style ESA/UC through existing New Style ESA and UC online application portals via gov.uk. Additionally, we are testing a digital Work Capability Questionnaire (UC50) in UC.
b) Online claims are currently being tested, with a very limited group of people, within Attendance Allowance with a view to this becoming more widely available in due course.
c) The Health Transformation Programme is transforming the entire PIP service, including introducing a digital PIP service with the option to apply online. We are currently operating a small-scale test of this new apply service, taking a small number of claims to begin with before we gradually and carefully increase the number of people who can use it. We have already introduced a digital version of the PIP2 health questionnaire, which is now offered to the majority of those making a claim.