The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that it will put “protections in place” to ensure that “no one experiences financial loss” when Work Capability Assessments (WCA) are scrapped as part of upcoming changes to the benefits system.
The UK Government recently published the Health and Disability White Paper, which lays out proposed reforms to the benefits system. As part of its shake-up, the DWP has announced plans to scrap WCAs to encourage people who need to claim benefits back into work. It’s important to keep in mind that these planned changes in the White Paper are proposals and will be debated in Parliament before coming into force in 2026/27.
WCAs currently provide decisions on whether a person is fit for work for the purpose of their Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit allowance. Under the new proposals, instead of undergoing a WCA, the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment would be used to decide whether a person will receive the new Universal Credit health element.
Minister for Disabled People Tom Pursglove MP, shared the latest update in a written response to Labour’s Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions, Vicky Foxcroft MP.
Ms FoXcroft asked if DWP would “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”.
Mr Pursglove responded: “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.”
DWP also recently said that plans to begin “testing matching people’s primary health condition to a specialist assessor” will start later this year. Mr Pursglove said that assessors will “take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions”.
The DWP Minister said: “We will transform the benefits system for the future, so that it focuses on what people can do rather than what they cannot, and ensure people can access the right support at the right time and have a better overall experience when applying for, and receiving, health and disability benefits.
“The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) will enable the delivery of White Paper proposals. We will continue to invest in developing our assessors’ skills. The Specialist Assessors is one of a number of proposed initiatives we will be exploring.
“This year, we will begin testing matching people’s primary health condition to a specialist assessor. As part of this, assessors will take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions.”
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