Press release: Work and Pensions Committee member welcomes court ruling on disability benefit
- Applicants for sickness and disability benefit won judicial review against test in May
- Court of Appeal upholds this judgement today
- MP calls on Government to proactively seek out evidence with which to assess people with mental illness
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is used to determine whether people can get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), which replaced the old-fashioned Incapacity Benefit in 2008.
Under the WCA, applicants are responsible for submitting medical evidence in advance of their assessment. This is very difficult for people with severe mental illness and, as a result, they are often wrongly judged as being fit for work.
Two applicants for ESA took a case to judicial review with support from the charities Mind, the National Autistic Society and Rethink Mental Illness. In May three judges ruled that the Government were in breach of the Equality Act 2010. The Government subsequently appealed, and the Court of Appeal today ruled against Ministers.
Sheila Gilmore said:
I warmly welcome today’s judgement and congratulate the applicants and their supporters in Mind, the National Autistic Society and Rethink Mental Illness.
While I believe that if people can work then they should work, I also believe that where people simply cannot work due to illness or disability, they should receive an adequate level of support. Unfortunately in too many instances, this is not happening just now.
Since the introduction of the Work Capability Assessment, 4 in 10 people found fit for work have appealed their decision – costing the taxpayer £50 million per year – and four in ten of those appeals have been successful.
That’s why I’ve been calling on the Government to fix the flaws in the Work Capability Assessment.
Today’s decision is a start – DWP should now proactively seek out evidence with which to assess people with mental illness.
But Ministers should go further. They should roll out the audio recording of all assessments to improve their quality. They should implement an assessment framework that better accounts for mental health and fluctuating conditions. And they should stop the practice of calling people back for reassessment as soon as they win their appeal.Notes to Editors:
- For information on today’s court case see Mind’s website.
- To find out more about Sheila’s work on ESA see here.
- Sheila Gilmore is a member of the Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee. You can view the committee’s website here.
- For more information please contact Matt Brennan, Parliamentary Assistant to Sheila Gilmore MP, on 020 7219 7062, 07742 986 513 or matthew.brennan@parliament.uk.
