A new report by the Work and Pensions Committee has found that the health assessments system used by people who cannot work or face extra costs due to disability or ill-health to access vital benefits “continues to let down those who rely on it”. However, the committee of cross-party MPs, led by chair Sir Stephen Timms MP, proposes several “quick and easy wins” to help restore confidence in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and “drive down the high rate of decisions reversed on appeal”.
The Committee is keen to see all assessments recorded by default, with claimants having the option to opt-out. It said that footage could then be used to review cases more accurately without having to go to appeal, and help assessors learn from past mistakes.
It added that some of the suggestions could drive down the high rate of decisions reversed on appeal, which still stands at 69 per cent for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Work Capability Assessments used for Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are set to be abolished as part of new DWP measures, but will remain in place until at least 2026.
MPs on the Committee also recommended:
- allowing claimants to choose between remote or in-person assessments
- extending the deadline to return forms
- targets to reduce assessment waiting times
- payments to people who have been forced to wait beyond the new targets
Commenting on the report, Committee Chair Sir Stephen Timms MP, said: “We surveyed eight and a half thousand people as part of our inquiry and found a profound lack of trust in the system as a consistent theme.
“Many will welcome the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment. The Government’s process improvements, and recognition that the system causes undue stress and hardship, are steps in the right direction.
“However, waiting years for changes won’t cut it when quicker wins are available: flexibility of choice on assessment by phone or face-to-face; recording assessments by default; extending deadlines to reduce stress; and sending claimants their reports. All this will give much-needed transparency to a process that so few trust yet affects their lives so fundamentally.”
He added: “All efforts must be made for unnecessary limbo and stress for claimants to be put to an end.”
Vicki Nash, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns at Mind, said: “The Committee describes many of the issues that the benefits assessment system causes, including crucially that people are still experiencing psychological distress as a result of undergoing health assessments.
“The Committee’s approach is a sensible and well thought out one. It calls for an external assessment of changes to health assessments, including the removal of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), to look at the potential physical and mental health effects of these changes.
“For a long time, Mind has been calling for the UK Government to establish a commission led by disabled people to redesign the benefits assessment system. This new commission would be tasked with proposing reforms to the structure and criteria of benefits assessments and could also look at whether removing the WCA is the right decision, and if so, how it can work safely. The UK government should enable any external assessment to be carried out by such a commission.”
She continued: “We are also pleased to see the Committee call for the UK government to undertake regular reviews of the mental health impacts of benefits assessments and make sure external researchers have access to good quality data to research this independently. The sector would then have a clearer, up to date picture of the mental health impacts as the government makes changes to the assessment system.
“The report highlights the need for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to speed up reforms to benefits assessments, including the WCA. Although the DWP plans to remove the WCA, this will not happen for several years and people continuing to go through the assessment in the meantime must not be forgotten. We hope to see the UK government take urgent action to implement the Committee’s recommendations.”
You can view the full report online here.
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