A number of constituents have emailed me raising their concerns about the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

The world of work has transformed since the pandemic. More people are able to benefit from the advantages of flexible and home working, and these developments bring new opportunities for those with long-term health conditions or disabilities to work.

As set out in the Health and Disability White Paper, published in March 2023, the Government plan to eventually remove the WCA and introduce a new personalised, tailored approach to employment support. It is still important, however, to ensure that the WCA is delivering the right outcomes ahead of these future changes. 

In September, the Government launched a consultation on the WCA activities and descriptors. Following this consultation, the Government will bring forward changes to the WCA, ensuring that it targets support fairly and effectively.

To reflect new flexibilities in the labour market, from 2025, the Government will remove the ‘Mobilising’ activity used to assess ‘Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity’; reduce the points awarded for the ‘Getting About’ descriptor used to assess ‘Limited Capability for Work’; and ensure the criteria used to determine a substantial risk to health of a claimant found capable of work-related activity is used only in exceptional circumstances.

Additionally, the Government will no longer refer to people’s limitations and will instead focus on what they can do. From 2025, the term ‘Work Preparation’ will replace ‘Limited Capability for Work’, and ‘Health Group’ will replace ‘Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity’.

 While I appreciate the concerns raised about these reforms, the activities and descriptors of the WCA have not been comprehensively reviewed for more than a decade. Over this time, the labour market has changed significantly, as evidenced by the increase in flexibility.