New statistics show thousands found fit for work as Government vows to push ahead with plans to reassess incapacity benefits
People being assessed for their ability to work are overwhelmingly being found fit and able to look for a job, according to new figures out today.
The latest statistics for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) applications show that three-quarters of applicants are being found fit for work or are stopping their claim before their assessment period has been completed.
Minister for Employment, Chris Grayling said:
"The vast majority of people who are applying for these benefits are being found fit for work or have stopped their claim. These are people who under the old system would have been abandoned on incapacity benefits. It's a clear indication of why reform is so urgently needed.
"This is exactly why we are going to reassess everyone claiming incapacity benefits for their ability to work, from this October. They will now be given the support they need to get back to work and will be expected to look for work if they are able to do so."
For new ESA claims from October 2008 to November 2009, the breakdown is:
- Support Group – 6%
- Work Related Activity Group – 14%
- Fit for Work - 39%
- Claim closed before assessment complete – 37%
- Assessment still in progress - 4%
People making a claim for Employment and Support Allowance undergo a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). To ensure that the assessment is fair and accurate we announced last month that an independent review would be undertaken by Professor Malcolm Harrington.
This review will be supported by a small Scrutiny Group that will offer advice and challenge to Professor Harrington during the course of the review. The review will be launching a call for evidence tomorrow aimed at gathering information on the WCA from a wide range of organisations and individuals.
Notes to Editors:
- The call for evidence will be found on the DWP website, http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/ and details on the scrutiny group will be available here from Wednesday 28 July.
- The full Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessments statistics are available here: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/esa_wca_27072010.pdf
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Support to incapacity benefits claimants through Pathways to Work
A Department for Work and Pensions programme to reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefits and help them into work has had a limited impact and, while a serious attempt to tackle an intractable issue, has turned out to provide poor value for money.
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"The Department for Work and Pensions has made a concerted effort to reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefits and deserves credit for grappling with a problem often seen as intractable.
"However, the Pathways to Work programme has turned out to provide poor value for money and it is therefore important that the Department learns from the experience. In the future it should base its programme decisions on a robust and clear evidence base, follow best contracting practice and establish a measurement regime which allows it to understand better what happens to those whom they may have helped."
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 28 May 2010
A Department for Work and Pensions programme to reduce the number of people claiming incapacity benefits and help them into work has had a limited impact and, while a serious attempt to tackle an intractable issue, has turned out to provide poor value for money, according to a report published today by the National Audit Office.
The report gives credit to the Department for trying to tackle the problem but, whilst the number of people claiming incapacity benefits has fallen slightly in recent years, the volume of claimants has remained in excess of 2.5 million for over a decade. The precise contribution of the Pathways to Work programme to a reduction of 125,000 in the number of people claiming incapacity benefits is not clear, but is likely to be limited. The reduction is likely to be due to the earlier medical assessment to determine benefit entitlement. Other elements of Pathways employment support - at an estimated cost of £94 million in 2008-09 - appear to have had no impact on claimants, with new claimants just as likely to move into employment without Pathways support as they are with it.
Pathways is led by Jobcentre Plus in some areas but is contracted out to third sector and private organisations in over 60 per cent of the country. The National Audit Office found that there is no evidence that the programme is performing better or costing significantly less in contracted out areas than in those run by Jobcentre Plus.
Contractors have universally underperformed against targets set by the Department, the NAO points out, and the Department has had to make concessions as part of contractual renegotiations to support the continuation of businesses and services. The NAO also found that the Department lacked adequate information on the Pathways supply chain. With a third of contracts making a financial loss, the programme's contracted out delivery does not appear to be sustainable. Looking forward, however, the Employment and Support Allowance looks likely to be a key instrument in reducing the number of incapacity benefit claimants.
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1011/pathways_to_work.aspx