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A report by the Work and Pensions Select Committee, which Stephen chairs, found a “profound lack of trust” in the assessments that people with ill-health or disabilities must go through to access the benefits that are meant to support them.
The Work and Pensions Select Committee’s report found that 77% of health assessment decisions were overturned on appeal in 2019/20. In a survey of 8,500 people for the report, respondents spoke of factual errors being made in their assessment, staff lacking knowledge of their condition, and difficulty completing forms.
The Government has committed to reforming assessments. It plans to remove the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), which claimants must pass to access Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit equivalents. However, the WCA will not be removed until 2026 and the Government plans to keep assessments for Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
Speaking to the Evening Standard, Stephen said, “Waiting years for changes won’t cut it when quicker wins are available: flexibility of choice on assessment by phone or face-to-face; recording assessments by default; extending deadlines to reduce stress; and sending claimants their reports.”
“All this will give much-needed transparency to a process that so few trust yet affects their lives so fundamentally.”