Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 4 December 2012.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the ability of the work capability assessment to establish the capability to work of a person with a fluctuating medical condition.
The assessment already gives people with fluctuating conditions the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time.
The health care professionals who carry out the WCA are trained to ask about and take account of fluctuation. The assessment is not a snapshot—if a person cannot carry out a function repeatedly and reliably they will be treated as unable to carry out that function at all.
In his second independent review of the work capability assessment, Professor Harrington addressed the particular concerns raised by the way the WCA works for people with fluctuating conditions. He asked leading charities, to make recommendations to refine the physical descriptors used in the WCA and the Department is currently working closely with the charities to create a strong evidence base for suggested changes to both the physical and the mental descriptors.
Yes3 people think so
No4 people think not
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