Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment

Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 28 November 2011.

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Photo of Duncan Hames Duncan Hames Liberal Democrat, Chippenham

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

(1) what proportion of applications for employment and support allowance made by residents of (a) Wiltshire Unitary Authority and (b) England and Wales were rejected on the basis of work capability assessment in (i) each quarter of 2010-11 and (ii) each quarter of 2011-12 to date; and in respect of what proportion of such applications the decision was (A) reversed and (B) upheld on appeal;

(2) what proportion of applications for employment and support allowance made by residents of Wiltshire Unitary Authority were rejected on the basis of the work capability assessment in each quarter since the third quarter of 2010-11; and in respect of what proportion of such applications that decision was (a) reversed and (b) upheld on appeal.

Photo of Chris Grayling Chris Grayling The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions

The following tables present information on new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims received between April 2010 and February 2011, which have undergone a work capability assessment (WCA). Appeals data are presented for claims starting up to August 2010. These are the latest available data.

Each table presents the proportion of all claims that have undergone the WCA and were subsequently assessed as fit for work by the Department's decision makers. Decisions on entitlement to ESA rest solely with the Department's decision makers taking into account the medical assessment reports from Atos and any other relevant information.

The tables present the proportion of all claims found fit for work that have appealed this decision and whose appeal has been resolved. The tables also show the proportion of completed appeals where the Department's decision was upheld and the proportion of completed appeals finding in favour of the appellant—meaning entitlement to ESA was reinstated.

Table 1 covers claims from Wiltshire Unitary Authority and Table 2 presents information for England and Wales combined. The tables provide monthly data rather than by quarter due to the limited amount of quarterly data available for the time period requested.

Table 1. Proportion of completed ESA claims assessed as fit for work (FFW), and proportions appealing a fit for work decision in Wiltshire Unitary Authority
Date of claim start Percentage of completed WCA assessed as fit for work Percentage assessed as FFW with an appeal heard Percentage of appeals where DWP decision upheld Percentage of appeals finding in favour of appellant
2010        
April 52 36 53 47
May 51 46 47 53
June 54 28 63 37
July 57 37 49 51
August 48 28 63 37
September 50
October 47
November 53
December 51
         
2011        
January 55
February 53
Table 2. Proportion of completed ESA claims found fit for work (FFW), and proportions appealing a fit for work decision in England and Wales combined
Date of claim start Percentage of completed WCA found fit for work Percentage who have appealed a FFW decision Percentage of appeals where DWP decision upheld Percentage of appeals finding in favour of appellant
2010        
April 59 34 65 35
May 60 31 65 35
June 59 30 69 31
July 58 27 70 30
August 57 24 69 31
September 57
October 56
November 57
December 56
         
2011        
January 58
February 61
Notes: 1. All proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 2. Data are only available for new claims starting up to February 2011. 3. Data are only available for completed appeals heard by the end of August 2011 (linking back to claims starting by August 2010). Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and heard, it is likely that there are more appeals that have not yet been heard for these claims. 4. Variations in the appeals figures for Wiltshire Unitary Authority are due to random statistical variation, due to the low numbers of appeals coming through on a monthly basis. As such, any apparent trends should be treated with caution. 5. The Department regularly publishes information on ESA and the work capability assessment, the latest publication can be found on the departmental website at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_wca 6. The data presented here are consistent with that presented in the publication referenced above.

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