The Government’s Health and disability white paper
The Government has announced ambitious reforms to the benefit system includes the removal of the Work Capability Assessment -WCA- and instead have just one health and disability assessment through PIP.
The current ‘Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity’ (LCWRA) will be replaced with a UC health element and awarded to people receiving any element of PIP and the UC standard amount. This element will be set at the same rate as the one people will already be receiving if they have been assessed as having LCWRA.
They are also testing a Severe Disability Group, looking at simplified applications for people with more severe health conditions.
The proposed reforms are also stepping up access to employment support by providing extra time with work coaches and directly working with employers to match people to jobs.
This is only in its infancy as the proposals require primary legislation. It will be rolled out for new claims initially in 2026/7 and then will begin to process existing UC claimants starting 2029.
This will be a welcome step forward for our members who at present have assessments within both ESA/UC and PIP. We will work in the development of the planned reforms to ensure that the ‘no work conditionality’ is still a feature of the reform. We believe that people who have Down’s syndrome should not be subject to sanctions if they cannot take up employment.