Government rule change shuts thousands out of disability benefits The number of people being refused disability benefit has soared to the highest level for three years after key changes to how […]

The number of people being refused disability benefit has soared to the highest level for three years after key changes to how applicants are assessed were introduced in January.

Figures published earlier this month revealed that the success rate among people applying for the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) – the main out-of-work disability benefit – fell sharply from the start of this year.

The news is likely to reignite the controversy over the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), the government-backed test that is used to judge how severely disabled someone is, in order to decide how much benefit they should receive.

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The government deny that the rules have changed. However, there has been new “guidance” on how to interpret the rules.

The WCA is used to assess how much disability benefit a claimant will receive. Applicants are placed in one of three groups: Support Group Higher level of benefit for severely disabled people who cannot work Work Related Activity Group Lower level of benefit for disabled people who might be able to work in future, and usually have to engage in activity such as practice interviews; they can be sanctioned if they do not Fit for work The applicant is judged to be able to work and receives no benefit

Suicide risk regulations

At the heart of the sudden collapse in successful disability benefit claims are regulations 29 and 35.

These rules partly refer to people whose mental health would be at risk if they were denied benefits or told to engage in work-related activity.

It specifically includes people at risk of suicide or self-harm.

The government always assumed these rules would only be used sparingly, but it became much more common over time – it was the basis of more than half of all Support Group benefit awards in 2015.

Changing rules

The government responded by issuing new guidance to staff carrying out WCA tests on how to interpret the regulations – although it insists there has been no change to the rules.

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) told i: “There has been no change in policy – this guidance makes clear that if there is a substantial risk to a claimant’s mental health by being placed in the Work Related Activity Group, they should be placed in the Support Group.

“The legislation underpinning this area of ESA hasn’t changed since 2013 so would not affect the data which was published [earlier this month].”

It is true that the legislation itself, and the wording of the rules, has not changed. But the DWP guidance – which tells WCA assessors how to interpret and apply the rules – has changed.

Under the guidance used in 2015, if the rules meant a claimant should not return to the workplace due to the risk to their health, they would likely mean they should not participate in work-related activity either: “…it is unlikely that someone who is at substantial risk for work would not be at substantial risk for work related activity and therefore for all practical purposes it is likely that it will apply to both.”

But later that year, the DWP issued new guidance which removed this statement.

The new guidance has a different emphasis (see p252 here): “The flexibility in the DWP approach, tailoring work-related activity to each claimant’s circumstances and health condition, and the requirement that claimants must not be asked to do anything that could put their health at risk, make it unlikely that many claimants will be at substantial risk if required to carry out work-related activity.”

The new DWP guidance took effect from January 2016.

In December 2015, 56 percent of ESA applicants were accepted into the Support Group. That fell to 33 percent by March

Meanwhile, in December 2015 just 8 percent of ESA applicants were accepted into the Work Related Activity Group (which pays lower benefits and requires claimants to undertake work-related activity). That climbed to 19 percent in March.

Between December 2015 and March 2016, the percentage of ESA applicants who were found fit for work and refused any benefit rose from 36 percent to 48 percent.

The DWP spokesperson said the change in test outcomes was due to a falling backlog of new claims: “We expected the proportion of claimants placed in the Support Group to fall as the backlog of new claims reduced, due to fewer claims leaving the benefit before reaching their Work Capability Assessment.”

Fit for work

The new guidance also says assessors should consider whether denying benefit to applicants at risk of suicide or self-harm might benefit them.

The previous guidance stated that someone who is a suicide risk should be placed in the Support Group. The new guidance, effective from January this year, states instead (see p252 here): “If you conclude that finding a claimant fit for work would trigger risk of suicide or self-harm then you need to consider whether there are factors that would mitigate the risk if the claimant were found fit for work.”

The guidance lists three “factors” that could “mitigate the risk”, including: “Have you considered the benefits of employment weighed against any potential risks? Remember that there is good evidence that people in work have better health outcomes and are at lower risk of suicide.”

The DWP spokesperson told i in relation to this point: “Healthcare professionals who carry out the Work Capability Assessment are trained in all aspects of their role including the application of risk. They are also issued with written guidance on all aspects of the Work Capability Assessment including the application of risk.”

In the new guidance there are no longer any “definitive” criteria that would normally trigger Regulation 35 and lead to a Support Group benefit award – such as if a mental health professional had assessed the claimant as highly vulnerable to relapse and self-harm.

The percentage of Support Group awards that were based on regulations 29 and 35 has also fallen sharply since January.

“Deeply concerning”

Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP, the SNP’s Social Justice spokesperson, pressed ministers earlier this year on the guidance around regulations 29 and 35. She said: “The SNP has consistently called for the UK Government’s failing Work Capability Assessment to be scrapped, and with the latest cuts of £30 a week for those in the Work Related Activity Group, it would not be surprising if the Tories tried make further savings by pushing sick and disabled people out of the Support Group.

“It is vital that there is transparency on the use of Regulation 35 and on whether advisors at the Department for Work and Pensions have been given adequate guidance and training to deploy this in special circumstances to protect people with ill health and disabilities.”

John McArdle, co-founder of disability group Black Triangle Campaign, said the changes were “absolutely despicable”. He told i: “There’s been a huge drop in the number of people going into the Support Group, and it’s because they moved the goalposts.

“Our view is that the Work Capability Assessment is more unsafe now than it ever has been since its introduction in 2008.”

“The Work Capability Assessment is more unsafe now than it ever has been” John McArdle, Black Triangle Campaign

Linda Burnip, of Disabled People Against Cuts, warned that benefit sanctions among disabled people would rise: “It’s a great concern because I think there are a lot of people who really aren’t able to carry out work-related activity and obviously if they fail to do what they’re asked to do, they get sanctioned. I think the number of disabled people, particularly those with mental health conditions, getting sanctioned is going to shoot up.”

The Labour shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Debbie Abrahams, said: “It is deeply concerning if the Department for Work and Pensions has narrowed the guidelines for assessors. The shadow team has been investigating concerns raised by welfare rights advisers that the Department has watered down safeguards introduced by the last Labour Government to protect vulnerable claimants.

“These assessments need to be completely overhauled; Labour want to see a holistic, person-centred approach, not the dehumanising, harmful and inefficient process we have now.”