Reforms to disability benefit assessments are still set to come into force soon Labour has confirmed, as the DWP gives the latest update on its plans.
An overhaul of the Work Capability Assessment remain at the heart of the changes, the department says, as its ‘Get Britain Working Again’ white paper – which pledges £240 million of investment – reveals that a consultation will begin in Spring 2025.
Presented by work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall, the paper says: “The DWP-led health and disability benefits system is not well designed to promote and enable employment.
“The current system focuses on assessing capacity to work instead of on helping people to adjust and adapt to their health condition. It misses opportunities to work with people to identify what kind of support could make work possible for them.”
The paper adds that Labour’s ambition is to create a system that empowers disabled people, is simpler to navigate, is trusted to make the “right decisions first time,” and moves away from “binary categories” of either fit – or not fit – for work.
The consultation will also aim to put “the views and voices of disabled people at the heart” of it, promising to consult with them and representative organisations.
However, underpinning the reform is a committment to meet Conservative plans to shave £3bn from the welfare spending bill over the next four years – equating to £2.7bn more than the newly-announced spending commmitments.
In the face of this, several charities have criticised the DWP for failing to meet calls to provide clarity to the hundreds of thousands of disability benefit claimants who are likely to be affected by the changes.
Iain Porter, senior policy adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, warned: “These positive first steps risk being undermined by the government’s commitment to £3bn of cuts to the health and disability benefits budget if this simply comes from removing support for disabled people.
“Putting arbitrary cost savings ahead of effective reforms leaves a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the disabled people on low incomes who rely on health and disability benefits.”
Louise Rubin, head of policy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “It’s good to see a positive vision for supporting disabled people who want to work, but we know there’s still a huge amount of anxiety about the changes the government is planning to make to the benefits system.
“The government is pressing ahead with the previous government’s planned £3bn cuts. But not everybody can work. Tightening up conditions so that disabled people are forced to look for work when they are unwell will be disastrous.”
Under previous Conservative plans, the WCA reforms would have changed the descriptors used to assess eligibility for certain benefits, making it harder for people to qualify. These are:
The Treasury has denied that Labour is committed to the same changes, but confirms that they will match the £3bn in welfare cuts that the previous government had made in its spending plans.
Analysis from The Resolution Foundation has found that the plans would mean around 450,000 people whose health prevents them from working will see a benefit cut of up to £4,900 a year.
A DWP spokesperson said:“We’ve inherited a spiralling benefits bill with millions of people with a long-term illness or disability out of work and not getting the support they need.
“We’re determined to fix this and, building on our Get Britain Working White Paper, will publish a consultation in Spring on measures to ensure the system is better supporting them – underlined by the fundamental principle of treating people with dignity and respect.
“This government isn’t about sticking plaster politics. This is an incredibly complex challenge – and we will work closely with charities & leading organisations, disabled people and people with health conditions to ensure their voices are heard as we develop our plans.”
