The new Government has announced plans for the independent review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to go ahead. In a statement to the House of Commons, Chris Grayling MP, revealed that the Government will:
stick to plans to trial the movement of people off iIncapacity benefit using the Work Capability Assessment in two areas (Burnley and Aberdeen) from autumn 2010 before national rollout;
stick to the plans to tie the new assessment to existing reviews;
extend the exemption criteria for some disabled people with ‘severe’ mental health conditions from having to attend an assessment; and
hold an independent review, to be lead by Professor Malcolm Harrington and completed in 2010, to scrutinise the assessment process and “ensure people are treated fairly and assessments are transparent”.
DA welcomes further exemptions for some disabled people. We hope the Government will clarify exactly how exemptions will be decided and when this will come into force. Exemptions should be in place before the autumn trials begin. The timeframe for the start of the new trials and the independent review are also out of sync. The review should also report and recommendations be taken on board before the trials begin.
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The new Government has announced plans for the independent review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to go ahead. In a statement to the House of Commons, Chris Grayling MP, revealed that the Government will:
DA welcomes further exemptions for some disabled people. We hope the Government will clarify exactly how exemptions will be decided and when this will come into force. Exemptions should be in place before the autumn trials begin. The timeframe for the start of the new trials and the independent review are also out of sync. The review should also report and recommendations be taken on board before the trials begin.
More information
http://www.disabilityalliance.org/wcareview.htm