Work Capability Assessment consultation closes on 30 October

The government's consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment, the test used to determine how people with health conditions are treated in the benefits system, closed on 30 October¹. The consultation was announced on 5 September 2023 and set out possible changes to four of the 17 activities used in the assessment: Mobilising, Continence, Social Engagement and Getting About¹. The Resolution Foundation said the timing of the consultation means any resulting policy proposals can be costed and included in time for November's Autumn Statement¹.

The Work Capability Assessment sorts claimants into three groups. Those with Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) receive an additional £390.06 a month in 2023-24 under Universal Credit and are not expected to look for or prepare for work; those with Limited Capability for Work (LCW) receive no additional award but have more limited work-search requirements; and those who fail the test are treated as jobseekers¹. To be placed in the LCWRA group, a claimant needs to score 15 or more points across several activities¹.

The consultation also covers the "substantial risk" criteria, a non-functional part of the assessment under which a claimant can be treated as having LCWRA despite scoring fewer than 15 points if there is a substantial risk to their mental or physical health¹. The government has argued this was intended to be a rare situation, but around one in six (15 per cent) of new claims are now awarded LCWRA in this way¹. The government has suggested either removing the definition entirely or amending it so it would not apply where a person could take part in tailored or minimal work preparation activity, or where reasonable adjustments could enable them to engage with work preparation¹.

The Resolution Foundation said the changes would make it less likely that claimants with certain conditions qualify for the LCWRA element, and more likely that claimants are subject to work-search requirements¹. It said the changes will apply only to new claimants, or those being reassessed, and not before 2025, as primary legislation would be needed¹. Reassessments usually take place between 6 and 36 months after the initial assessment¹.

The context is a rising bill. Benefit expenditure related to ill-health and disability is set to be 40 per cent higher in 2027-28 than in 2021-22, and total welfare spending 25 per cent higher in real terms over the same period, with health and disability benefits making up almost a third (32 per cent) of all welfare spending by 2027-28¹. In November 2022, 3.2 million people were in receipt of health-related means-tested benefits, up 25 per cent (635,000) since February 2020, and three-quarters of them (2.4 million) were in the LCWRA group¹. In 2022, two-thirds of those who went through a Work Capability Assessment were placed in the LCWRA group, up from 21 per cent of new claimants of equivalent benefits in 2011¹.

Why it matters for households

The changes would affect entitlement to the LCWRA element of Universal Credit, worth £390.06 a month in 2023-24, and the work-search requirements attached to a claim¹. The Resolution Foundation said three-quarters of those in receipt of means-tested health-related benefits are in the bottom half of the income distribution, and that 87 per cent of adults in receipt of such benefits have problems with their mobility or mental health, or have social or behavioural problems¹. It said only a minority will see their benefit award or work requirements change, because only claimants whose assessment outcome moves them into a different group are affected¹. The changes would not apply to existing claimants until they are reassessed, and not before 2025¹.

What happens next

The consultation closed on 30 October¹. Any resulting policy proposals can be costed and included in time for November's Autumn Statement¹. No costings were available at the time of the Resolution Foundation's analysis, and the government said it envisaged only a minority would lose entitlement to their current level of benefit or have to undertake work search¹.