Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 12 October 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of applications for employment and support allowance made by residents in Brighton and Hove unitary authority area were rejected on the basis of a work capability assessment (a) between October 2008 and November 2010 and (b) in the latest period which figures are available; and what proportion of such decisions were (i) reversed and (ii) upheld on appeal.
Decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) using the work capability assessment rest solely with the Department's decision makers taking into account the medical assessment reports from Atos and any other relevant information.
Table 1 presents data for new ESA claims starting between October 2008 to November 2010 (this is the latest period for which these figures are available) where the claimant has been assessed to be fit for work. Figures are for initial assessments only and numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Table 1: Fit for work decisions on new ESA claims | ||
Fit for work | Percentage of all new ESA claims (1) | |
Brighton and Hove UA | 1,920 | 32 |
(1) Includes claims that are closed before assessment and those still in progress. |
If someone is assessed to be fit for work by DWP they are no longer entitled to claim ESA. However, they may ask for a revision and/or they may appeal against the DWP decision.
Table 2 shows appeals heard on fit for work decisions for ESA claims starting between October 2008 and May 2010 (this is the latest period for which these figures are available). Figures are for initial assessments only and numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10 (as a result, summing of rows may not give the totals shown).
Table 2: Appeals heard on fit for work decisions | |||||
Appeals heard | Decision in favour of appellant | Percentage decision in favour of appellant | DWP decision upheld | Percentage DWP decision upheld | |
Brighton and Hove UA | 740 | 420 | 56 | 330 | 44 |
Notes: 1. The Department regularly publishes official statistics on the employment and support allowance (ESA) work capability assessment at the national level. The latest report, published in July 2011, covers new claimants to ESA for October 2008 to November 2010 (the latest data available) and can be found at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca 2. The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions, functional assessment data from Atos Healthcare and appeals data from the Tribunals Service. 3. Data on appeal includes ESA claims up to the end of May 2010 (the latest month where we have sufficient volumes of appeals heard to include in the publication) where the person claiming has been assessed to be fit for work, they subsequently appeal the Department's decision and the appeal has been heard by Tribunals Service. 4. Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to the Tribunals Service and heard, it is likely that there are more appeals that have not yet been heard. Therefore these figures should be treated as emerging findings rather than final at this stage. |
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