UK: Disability benefits (UC, ESA and PIP) - news and updates 2023 (including government plans to scrap the work capability assessment)

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Somehow no one important and powerful enough pointed out that these groups -the pair of which do not exist in any real way beyond their weaponisation- mostly were in fact not really being compared favourably or unfavourably to each other, but to the dominant group the non-disabled white majority. Always found wanting in comparison.
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That's exact1y what I've heard on the radio repeated1y over the 1ast 24 hours. Covid changed working practices for 'us' (i.e. we11, hea1thy, most1y midd1e c1ass office workers/journa1ists) with home working, so sick and disab1ed peop1e can obvious1y do the same...

Edit. Quotes about 1 in 4 peop1e suffering 'menta1 hea1th' at any one time, most of which wi11 obvious1y be mi1d or reactive to circumstances. No actua1 journa1ism on how severe ones menta1 hea1th has to be to get into the 1imited capacity for work and work re1ated activity groups of ESA or UC.
 
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https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/reassessing-the-work-capability-assessment/

I haven't yet read this artic1e, but it presents the statistics around the consu1tation amongst other facts, opinions and predictions.

Yesterday, the Government announced that it is consulting on changes to the Work Capability Assessment, the assessment used to determine how people with health conditions are treated within the benefits system. Coming shortly after the Health and Disability White Paper, this underlines that we are going to be talking a lot more about health- and disability-related benefits over the years ahead, as this and future governments grapple with how to both curb the rising welfare bill and reduce economic inactivity. The source of concern is obvious: in real terms, benefit expenditure related to ill-health and disability is set to be 40 per cent higher in 2027-28 than in 2021-22.

The suggested changes to the Work Capability Assessment would make it less likely that claimants with certain conditions will quality for the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) element of Universal Credit, currently worth £390.06 a month. The change would also make it more likely that claimants will be subject to work-search requirements.

Given that the Work Capability Assessment relates primarily to means-tested benefits, it is unsurprising that lower-income adults are more likely to be affected: three-quarters of those in receipt of means-tested health-related benefits are in the bottom half of the income distribution. No costings are yet available, but the Government has said that it envisages that only a minority would lose entitlement to their current level of benefit (or have to undertake work search as a requirement for claiming benefits). This is because, although most claimants will see some changes to the way their Work Capability Assessment is scored, only a few will be affected to the extent that they will lose support. The changes will apply only to new claimants, or those being reassessed, and not before 2025.

The Government has used the rise of remote working as a justification for yesterday’s changes, which is understandable since remote working has remained high since the pandemic – over a fifth of workers are estimated to work mainly from home in the second quarter of 2023, up from only one-in-twenty pre-pandemic. But the impact of remote working on the labour market opportunities for adults with disabilities shouldn’t be overstated, given that the prevalence of remote working among disabled workers is no higher than among the overall population. And what really matters is the type of work on offer to individuals: not every job can be done remotely, and for those for whom low-paid work is the only option, the vast majority will be unable work from home.
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Fu11 artic1e can be accessed via the above 1ink.
 
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/dwp-announces-major-benefit-changes-27658647

From the above artic1e -

The consultation’s proposals include updating the categories associated with mobility and social interaction, reflecting improved employer support in recent years for flexible and home working – and minimising the risk of these issues causing problems for workers.
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This shows a comp1ete 1ack of understanding of what home working is 1ike1y to invo1ve. A person who cannot engage in socia1 interaction in a physica1 workp1ace is high1y un1ike1y to be ab1e to do this via Zoom, the phone or even emai1 to the 1eve1 required in a job (or in a re1iab1e manner). A11 jobs require emp1oyees to socia11y interact with their emp1oyer and most require emp1oyees to interact with co11eagues. EDIT - and worse, customers/c1ients!

The same with mobi1ising around the home. There is no grant avai1ab1e to adapt homes for disab1ed peop1e to work from home, it's a1ready very difficu1t to get homes adapted for dai1y 1iving via the Disab1ed Faci1ities Grant!

It's not just about getting a job which is technica11y possib1e to do from home, it's as much about having a suitab1e home environment to work in. I haven't read any artic1e so far that has high1ighted this (a1though of course the consu1tation was on1y announced yesterday, so most disab1ed organisations haven't yet produced initia1 responses).
 
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Simbindi said:
It's not just about getting a job which is technica11y possib1e to do from home, it's as much about having a suitab1e home environment to work in. I haven't read any artic1e so far that has high1ighted this (a1though of course the consu1tation was on1y announced yesterday, so most disab1ed organisations haven't yet produced initia1 responses).
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Whi1e an emp1oyer can make some reasonab1e adjustments to their own workp1ace they can't be expected to make any adjustments to their emp1oyee's homes. In rea1ity emp1oyers are not making the adjustments required by disab1ed peop1e, and their sick emp1oyees get removed via i11 hea1th retirement, or just fired.

When I took 6 weeks continuous sick 1eave from a 1oca1 authority schoo1 job I was to1d I wou1d have to be dismissed if I cou1dn't manage my hea1th. At the time this was due to a chronic chest infection that subsequent1y 1ed to an asthma diagnosis being made, I was hiding my ME/CFS diagnosis (it was before the 2010 Equa1ities Act, I'd never even have got the job if I'd been open about my diagnosis and honest about my medica1 history).

I was a1so bad1y bu11ied for my socia1 difficu1ties, facia1 expressions, dys1exia, communication difficu1ties, memory prob1ems etc. It's 1eft me severe1y traumatised. I was working in an Specia1 Educationa1 Needs department at the time...
 
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Simbindi said:
It a1so means that o1d assessments won't accurate1y record a c1aimant's functiona1 1imitations, since they wi11 on1y have a truncated report. I'm quite worried about this aspect and think I wi11 take the precaution of doing a subject access request to the DWP for a11 my records so that I can go through them in preparation to cha11ange anything shou1d this nightmare transpire in the future (as obvious1y there wou1d be no time to do so if random1y ca11ed up for a WCA review).

Edit - I think this issue may particu1ary affect ME patients who have met the support group criteria due to mobi1ity issues.
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This worries me a lot, because i'm pretty sure i been put in the SG on mobility grounds. I just did the B&W ESA test & despite scoring about 80 points over the rest of the test, w/o mobility & social i would end up in the WRAG. But i cant even manage day to day living, i havent seen my family or many of my friends for over a yr because there is simply nothing left after the urgent essentials are done, to do the things i want & need to do. Neither have i been able to log into anything but my main bank account or do any kind of paperwork/'housekeeping'.

I am in a kind of rolling PEM. My phone number was recently spoofed & i was advised to change my number but i cant because the extra energy it would require to log into everywhere that sends a code to my mobile to identify me or notify me of medical appointments etc, is just out of reach, it would take me many months.

I was brought up with a strong work ethic and for me not working is a source of constant shame i have to overcome, but i cant even manage to keep my dental hygiene up, how could i then fit in some WFH? even only part time.:cry:
Life is intolerable now, i am only still around because i love the people who love me & refuse to traumatise them by going, but life will be just a form of torture if i have to spend ALL my energy trying to do a job i will only end up getting sacked from, or trying to fight to get them to recognise i cant. I struggle to manage to have a bath once a week now, if i had to do more i would just never manage it.

'People' dont seem to understand what it is to be ILL, they cant conceive of what it might be like to be ill in the way that they had to have a few days off this yr because they had food poisoning/covid/flu, that kind of illness doesnt exist.

They think only of being miserable (depression) an 'over reactor' (anxiety), or on the other hand being quadraplegic (for example). And we all know 'they get sad/anxious/tired too', and 'disabled people are very capable - look at the olympics'. So they just think that people not working are either deserving (rare) or need more support(unusual) or just need a kick up the arse (vast majority). I have actually witnessed a kind of jealousy - that people like me 'get to' stay home all day. :mad: if they knew what i'd give to be well enough to do some shitty job.

I'd give anything to be able to sit on a tesco checkout (despite having had a successful career pre illness.

Simbindi said:
I presume that any changes to the WCA wi11 affect 'new sty1e' or 'contributory' ESA, so this wou1d a1so target c1aimants in that group that were promised not to be affected by the abo1ition of the WCA as it was on1y going to be app1ied to UC c1aimants (with income dependant support group ESA c1aimants not being transferred to UC unti1 2028/9).
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You may not know but just wanting to clarify - I'm on old ESA (CB ONLY no IB) & in the SG. I am due a reassessment feb/march 2024, although the last 3 reassessments have been deferred. So if it goes ahead it will still be on the old criteria, but if it gets deferred again to 2026 i'll be assessed with the new criteria (assuming it or some form of it comes in)?

Simbindi said:
I was a1so bad1y bu11ied for my socia1 difficu1ties, facia1 expressions, dys1exia, communication difficu1ties, memory prob1ems etc. It's 1eft me severe1y traumatised. I was working in an Specia1 Educationa1 Needs department at the time...
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Thats horrific i'm so sorry that happened to you.

Thanks so much for your knowledgeable posts on here Simbindi i appreciate them.
 
JemPD said:
Thanks so much for your knowledgeable posts on here Simbindi i appreciate them.
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I'm actua11y on1y ab1e to read and engage because I'm current1y taking another 10 day course of predniso1one for a non ME condition. I've discovered it dramatica11y improves my cognition and severa1 other specific symptoms that I've tried to raise with doctors over the 1ast 2 decades, a1ong with more re1ative1y newer ones (though not fu11y, I'm obvious1y comparing the improvement to a very 1ow base).
 
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JemPD said:
You may not know but just wanting to clarify - I'm on old ESA (CB ONLY no IB) & in the SG. I am due a reassessment feb/march 2024, although the last 3 reassessments have been deferred. So if it goes ahead it will still be on the old criteria, but if it gets deferred again to 2026 i'll be assessed with the new criteria (assuming it or some form of it comes in)?
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It wi11 on1y happen if the current government get re-e1ected. A1though other parties a11 have their own (as yet unannounced) p1ans for we1fare reform, which is c1ear from their response to this 1atest announcement (e.g. ca11ing it 'tinkering around the edges of a broken system').
 
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JemPD said:
Thats horrific i'm so sorry that happened to you.
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It's one of the reasons I sought my ASD (NHS) assessment and then the ADHD one (I'd a1ready had extensive neurocognitive testing for the dys1exia and the dyspraxia whi1e attending university as a mature undergraduate and then as a post grad). They probab1y wou1dn't have overt1y bu11ied me if I'd had a '1abe1' at the time, but then I'd never have been offered the job so that's a bit redundant.
 
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Simbindi said:
I thought this was a re1evant examp1e of what the rea1ity is in terms of getting 'reasonab1e adjustments' for socia1 engagement difficu1ties. And this autistic person was high1y qua1ified and it was the NHS refusing his requests, the 1argest emp1oyer in the country!

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.c...s-after-refusal-of-job-interview-adjustments/
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I hadn't thought about this, but the p1an to remove the socia1 engagement criteria from the WCA on the basis that c1aimants who strugg1e with this in the workp1ace, a1so fai1s to take account that many won't be ab1e to socia11y engage at a11 even in an interview. And of course wou1d not be ab1e to engage with a Job Centre work coach!
 
Simbindi said:
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.c...es-are-horrendously-dangerous-activists-warn/
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Clifford said she believed the idea behind the WCA reforms was to force workers into filling vacancies “for all the ‘bad jobs’ with pay too low to make a living from and insecure hours”.

She said ministers had “ignored the major safeguarding concerns” raised by DPOs and charities, and that disabled activists feared the proposals would be brought in whichever party – Labour or Conservative – wins the next election.

She said: “They are effectively getting rid of out-of-work benefits for disabled people and denying the realities and prevalence of disability to do it, at the same time ramping up sanctions which are proven to discriminate against disabled job-seekers.

“It is horrendously dangerous.”
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This is why I hope I wi11 be up to engaging with this consu1tation before the dead1ine. I p1an to send a copy to my MP and save it for the future, because MPs on1y see the fina1 report, which no doubt wi11 'cherry pick' responses and probab1y not even summarise a11 the concerns raised.
 
Moderator note:
Please keep the discussion focused on the thread topic, specifically UK disability benefits and any proposed changes and consultations. This will make it easier for members with limited capacity to keep up with important developments.

Discussion of issues such as treatment of minorities are off topic for the thread. Discussion of wider economic and political issues, including how countries and political parties allocate limited resources, are beyond the scope of the forum and in some cases breach the no non ME politics rule.
 
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https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/consultation-on-slashing-support-group-launched-by-dwp

The government has begun a consultation on changing the work capability assessment (WCA) to make it much harder to be found to have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) or to be in the support group of ESA. Benefits and Work is urging claimants to take part in the consultation, which lasts until 30 October.

The proposals are set out in a document entitled ‘Work Capability Assessment: Activities and Descriptors Consultation’.

Any changes would require amendments to primary legislation, which would happen in 2024. There would also need to be changes to assessment providers’ IT systems, which means the actual introduction of a revised WCA would not happen until 2025.

Once a new WCA is introduced, any changes would affect new claimants and also existing UC and ESA claimants when their award is reviewed.

The main changes being proposed are to four of the current WCA activities and the vital ‘substantial risk’ rule.
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Because this proposal is, in reality, a huge and potentially deadly cost-cutting exercise.

If the government simply wanted to help more people attempt to work, they could easily do so just by guaranteeing a safe return to existing levels of benefits for anyone who tried working but was unable to sustain it. Support could be offered to prepare for work without any threat to benefits.

In addition, many of the proposed cuts will not affect LCWRA. Instead, they reduce the chances of being found to have LCW. This means that disabled claimants will simply be treated as ordinary claimants with no protection at all against a savage sanctions regime and will potentially get less, rather than more, support with moving back into work.
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Labour to the rescue?

Many commentators are suggesting that these changes will never happen because of the strong probability that Labour will be in power before they are introduced.

But there are big question marks over how willing Labour is to be seen to be supporting sick and disabled claimants.

Moreover, if the Conservatives include any savings from these changes in their spending plans, it places Labour in a difficult position. If Labour say they will not implement any changes, they will consider themselves obliged to say where they will get the cash from to cover what will now be the additional cost of keeping the WCA as it is.

Taking cash from another budget to cover welfare payments seems likely to be something Labour will be particularly reluctant to do.
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Take part in the consultation

Many readers will be extremely sceptical about the value of taking part in a consultation, believing that the DWP will already have made up its mind what it is going to do.

That may be true, but to build any real opposition to measures which could undoubtedly be life-threatening for some claimants, it’s vital that the DWP cannot claim there is broad support for the proposals. And if there is a sufficiently ferocious response, it may dissuade the DWP for going for the most extreme options it has outlined in the consultation.
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Fu11 artic1e at the 1ink above, but this is one government consu1tation I strong1y recommend members respond to, even if you are on1y ab1e to give short, basic answers to each question demonstrating the danger to c1aimants 1ives etc.
 
Regarding the WCA, in the meantime I wou1d recommend that anyone who has an ESA renewa1 form issued takes these possib1e changes into account when composing their answers.

I a1ways make references, with specific examp1es, of how my functiona1 1imitations wou1d app1y in 'the modern workp1ace'. The DWP guidance te11s HCPs to consider the 'modern workp1ace' as actua11y offering reasonab1e adjustments and physica1 adaptations for a disab1ed person, even though the rea1ity is far from this.

Given the DWP now thinks working practices have dramatica11y changed in the 1ast 10 years and especia11y home working becoming avai1ab1e for c1aimants, I wou1d now adjust my answers to inc1ude broader examp1es of how my functiona1 1imitations mean I can't work from home because x, y, z etc.

I'd a1so cover why I can't engage in WRA at a11 or engage with a Job Centre work coach even by te1ephone or emai1 without it making me more i11 etc.
 
Simbindi said:
Regarding the WCA, in the meantime I wou1d recommend that anyone who has an ESA renewa1 form issued takes these possib1e changes into account when composing their answers.

I a1ways make references, with specific examp1es, of how my functiona1 1imitations wou1d app1y in 'the modern workp1ace'. The DWP guidance te11s HCPs to consider the 'modern workp1ace' as actua11y offering reasonab1e adjustments and physica1 adaptations for a disab1ed person, even though the rea1ity is far from this.

Given the DWP now thinks working practices have dramatica11y changed in the 1ast 10 years and especia11y home working becoming avai1ab1e for c1aimants, I wou1d now adjust my answers to inc1ude broader examp1es of how my functiona1 1imitations mean I can't work from home because x, y, z etc.

I'd a1so cover why I can't engage in WRA at a11 or engage with a Job Centre work coach even by te1ephone or emai1 without it making me more i11 etc.
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This is very, very good advice, which i have not taken into account previously but i will definitely do so next time. Do you mind if i copy/print your post to put in my file to remind me when my review comes up? (I know this is a public thread but i like to be courteous :) )
 
what worries me in taking part in the consultation is that DWP might use it against me - like they use someone being able to fill out their own form against them. ie if you can spend 2 months doing a tiny bit at a time while inducing worse PEM, then they assume that means you can work - "filled out own ESA50, therefore can do WRA"

If i respond it will mean me sacrificing necessary self care & life admin tasks in order to do it. I'm prepared to do that because its so crucial, but i'm scared it will be held against me. I certainly wouldnt put it past the DWP to check 'did this person respond to the consult & what did they say' when you are next due for assessment.
 
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