by Changes to disability benefit assessments are due to come into effect soon as Rachel Reeves pushes ahead with plans to cut £3 billion from the welfare bill ahead of the upcoming Labor Budget.
The previous Conservative government announced in 2023 that the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) would be reformed, and that the qualifying criteria would be significantly overhauled. According to research from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), around 450,000 fewer people are expected to have limited work capacity due to the changes.
Labor reiterated the plans in its election manifesto, saying the WCA is “not working” and needs to be “reformed or replaced”. Previous estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility show that the measure would save £3 billion over the next four years, figures which are understood to have already been factored into the Treasury’s spending assumptions.
Under the Conservative plans, the WCA reforms would change the descriptors used to assess eligibility for certain benefits, making it harder for people to qualify. These are:
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The “Mobilization” activity used to assess limited work capacity and work-related activity (LCWRA)
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Realign the LCWRA’s Substantial Risk Rules with the original policy intent to apply only in exceptional circumstances
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Reduction of points for some of the descriptors under the Getting About activity used to assess limited work capacity (LCW)
It remains unclear whether the new government’s plans for WCA will take a different form, with the DWP saying it plans to release more details.
However, the government should not make these changes “urgently”, experts from the living standards think tank the Resolution Foundation said in their ‘Cutbacks Ahead’ report.
They said the reform would mean around 450,000 people whose health prevents them from working will see a benefit cut of up to £4,900 a year.
The report’s authors say the issue is “similar in scale” to Labour’s controversial decision to cut winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners from this year.
“These changes should not be rushed,” said the Resolution Foundation. “They will degrade living standards for low-income families, with 47 percent of families receiving these disability benefits coming from the bottom 30 percent of the income distribution.”
Instead, the authors argued that the changes should be delayed or canceled to allow “sufficient time” to ensure effective implementation.
The think-tank – which is thought to influence ministers – also disputes the previous government’s logic that the changes would encourage more people to work, arguing that it is actually a simple cost-saving measure.
His research shows that only around 3 per cent of those affected (around 15,400 people) would transition into work, with the rest still able to work and almost £5,000 worse off. The measure is predicted to raise approximately £1.3bn a year for the Exchequer by 2028/29.
DWP Labor secretary Liz Kendall said she wants to tackle long-term sickness, with a record 2.8 million people out of work for this reason.
In September, she met with a newly formed panel of experts who will advise the government on how to achieve its ambitious 80 per cent employment target, which currently stands at 75 per cent.
The Minister admitted that improving healthcare is also needed to achieve Labour’s ambition, as experts warn against stigmatizing illness and leaving vulnerable people without support.
The Resolution Foundation’s report added to the “real failure of public policy here the fundamental decline in the nation’s health”, arguing that the cost burden of supporting people with health conditions will be placed directly on other parts of local government or central if changes are not considered. .
David Southgate, policy manager at disability equality charity Scope, said: “Disabled people still don’t know what’s going to happen to the Work Capability Assessment. This leaves thousands anxious and confused.
“The government must scrap the plans of its predecessor and put forward its own positive case for change.
“There is an urgent need for change, because the Work Capability Assessment is degrading, stressful and built on bad faith.
“The government needs to work with disabled people to fix our broken welfare system, not make it more punitive.”
Over the next six years, public spending on working-age disability and incapacity benefits is expected to increase from £43 billion in 2022/23 to £63 billion in 2028/29 – an increase of almost 50 per cent. Most of this will be paid for by disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP). This benefit is assessed through a different process to the WCA.
A DWP spokesman said: “Spiraling inaction and millions of people being denied the right support is holding the country back and holding the economy back.
“We believe that the Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be amended or replaced, along with a proper plan to support people with disabilities.
“We will deliver the change the country needs; supporting those who can work, get into work, and deliver growth in every part of the country.”
