New claimants with mobilising issues will be the largest group hit by the proposed changes to the work capability assessment (WCA) planned for 2025, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has predicted.
Those that have severe mental health conditions will also be hit hard.
The OBR has estimated that by 2028-29 there will be;
Approximately 371,000 additional claimants placed in limited capability for work (LCW) group and not the limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) group. This is happening because of changes being made to the mobilising descriptors.
Approximately 230,000 additional claimants will be placed in LCW group rather the LCWRA group because of the upcoming changes to the substantial risk regulations.
Approximately 29,000 claimants will be placed in the intensive work search group rather than the LCW group because of the future changes that are being made to the ‘getting about’ points score.
It was confirmed as evidence to the Commons Work and Pensions Committee in parliament last month that the DWP is still intending to introduce the changes to the WCA in 2025 and that they will only affect new claims.
It is also estimated that by 2029, over 600,000 people will miss out on the additional payments that they would have if they were still in the LCWRA group.
As a result of these changes it has been reported that almost a quarter of a million claimants many of the those with mental health conditions, will knowingly have their health and wellbeing put at risk.
It has also been estimated that only one or two percent of these claimants will actually be able to find work because most of these claimants either aren’t well enough. Also many workplaces cannot make the required alterations to their workplace to make it disabled friendly.
These changes have been implemented to save them money, to give more tax cuts to those that are already getting a good deal.
To take away a person’s vital payments and to make them look for work that they won’t be able to do is unbelievably cruel.
How many of these already extremely vulnerable people will be sanctioned or forced to do tasks that they aren’t capable of.
It’s unacceptable to treat people like this and all of us should be angry about this I know that I am.
There’s no price that can be put on a person’s life but this cruel and calculated government will continue to throw as much hatred as they can before the next general election.
They don’t care and no one should expect them to either.
Digital aspects of universal credit (UC) has routinely lead to wrong payments being awarded to claimants which are often the most vulnerable claimants – and therefore breaches rule-of-law principles, new Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) research finds.
The three-year study found that while the digital nature of the benefit has some advantages for UC claimants, the way the digital systems have been designed can also lead to people being left without vital money they are entitled to and information they need in order to challenge DWP decisions.
In the worst cases claimants are forced into acute hardship because the programming and operation of this digital- by-design benefit does not align with social security legislation.
The charity’s report catalogues numerous injustices and breaches of rule-of-law principles in the operation of digital UC systems and reveals the extent to which its workings are opaque for claimants and researchers.
Problems uncovered by CPAG’s research include people missing out on additional support they are entitled to because the online claims process does not identify their needs. Families are going without their entitlements for all children because verification paperwork is pending for one child.
Care leavers are also unable to submit a digital claim in advance of their 18th birthday even though DWP guidance enables this.
Worryingly, the research found that in the year ending February 2023, approximately one-third of the 2.9 million registrations for UC did not result in a claim being submitted at all but there appears to be no DWP information in the public domain on why the drop-out rate is so high.
CPAG’s research suggests that aspects of the digital claim form that make it difficult for some claimants to complete the form and establish their entitlement may explain at least some of these abandoned claims.
Digital claim form does not ask all the right questions
Some claimants are entitled by legislation to extra amounts of UC or exemptions from the standard rules of UC.
This can be because of their particular circumstances (for example if they have a health condition, are escaping domestic violence, are carers or care leavers).
However the digital claim form doesn’t always ask claimants if they meet any of the conditions for these extra amounts or exemptions. As a result of this claimants – who are not experts on the complex UC rules – don’t always get a fair chance to establish their entitlement.
In the worst cases, vulnerable people go without extra money or exemptions they should have.
For example, while UC claimants under the age of 35 renting in the private sector will receive the shared accommodation rate of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), there are exceptions to this for claimants with certain rates of disability benefits, and claimants who have lived in homeless accommodation for three months or more while receiving specific support. These claimants are entitled to the higher one-bedroom rate of LHA.
However, the online claims process doesn’t ask claimants if they meet any of these conditions. Instead, the DWP expects claimants to understand the complexities of the housing cost element regulations and self-identify as having the specific circumstances and characteristics that exempt them from the shared accommodation rate.
This breaches the rule-of-law principle of procedural fairness and is a failure of the duty to make reasonable enquiries.
By failing to ask all the relevant questions, the UC system systematically discriminates against groups entitled to additional support – the very same groups who by definition are often the most vulnerable and at risk of discrimination because of their extra needs.
Nor does the digital claim form ask claimants what date they want to claim from even though backdating by up to one month for example if a claimant ‘couldn’t reasonably be expected to make the claim earlier’ for reasons including and not excluding having a disability, or a system failure.
Claimants can request a revision of their claim so that it has an earlier start date, but the DWP does not establish in each case when a claimant wishes their claim to start from. This then places the onus on claimants to self-identify that a backdate is possible.
This leaves some claimants who are eligible for backdating – mostly people with health conditions or disabilities – without money they are entitled to.
CPAG wants claim forms amended to ask all claimants if they require backdating or want to claim from an earlier date.
All children in a family deprived of support if one child can’t be verified
The UC digital system is unable to accept the verification of individual children independently of other children in a household. This results in families missing out on their legal entitlement to the child element of UC for all of their children. This happens if there is a problem with providing evidence to verify just one child in a family.
The computer system clashes with social security regulations which entitle the children to support.
Early Warning System case – November 2022
A woman has three children, aged 10, 14 and 19. The woman has cancer and claimed UC in April, declaring her children via a change of circumstances in June. She couldn’t provide evidence of her eldest child’s education because he hadn’t been accepted into college yet and it wasn’t possible to provide evidence until the new school year.
The verification for all of the children failed because of the lack of evidence for one of her children. Since June, her UC award has only included the single person allowance, limited capability for work-related activity and housing costs restricted to a single person according to the local housing allowance (LHA) rules. There is no child element for any of the children and no additional bedrooms allowed for them in the LHA size criteria
Early Warning System case August 2022
This claimant has four children, for one of whom she receives Disability Living Allowance. The claimant had recorded this child as being on low-rate care, when she was in fact on mid-rate care. This is irrelevant for her UC…
DWP asked her to correct it but she missed the message because English is not her first language. As a result, she wasn’t paid the child element (or disabled child addition) for any of the children (all born pre-Apr 2017) for three consecutive assessment periods.
She also had no work allowance applied and her housing element was reduced as she was deemed to be under occupying with no children in the household.
She missed out on around £1,500 per month, was in extreme hardship and got into massive debt. [The case, from CPAG’s Early Warning System August 2022, was eventually resolved by a welfare rights adviser
Digital system can’t accept advance claims despite regulations permitting them
DWP guidance enables advance claims of up to one month for prisoners who are about to be released from custody and care leavers in advance of their 18th birthday.
These claimants can’t receive benefits while they are the responsibility of the local authority or are in prison but the legislation enables them to make a claim while support structures are in place.
In practice however, the digital UC system does not accept advance claims. One adviser told the CPAG research team:
Will (adviser) – October 2021
The law allows care leavers to make an advanced claim… It doesn’t mean you’ll get your money earlier… But what it does allow, which is very important for that group of people, is… about four weeks before they turn 18 … the social worker can go out, get their ID together, and explain what the process is. You press submit, sit back. They turn 18….. And in five weeks’ time the money comes.
That’s the way it should work… [But in reality the DWP] say you can do something called advanced preparation of a claim, but you can’t do an advanced claim… If you press submit it all b…..s up. What we find with our young people is, they quite often don’t want to, on the morning of their 18th birthday, go through a claim… it can be two or three weeks, sometimes longer, before they’ll come back to engage with the social worker…’
Claimants lose access to information they need:
When a decision on a UC award is revised or superseded (changed) with effect from an earlier date, it can generate an overpayment (if the amount of the award after the change is less than was previously awarded). This can also cause underpayments (if the amount of the award after the change is more than was previously awarded).
When the award is changed from an earlier date, claimants can no longer see the original decision because their payment statement in their online account is automatically updated to display only the new decision.
Without being able to compare the original with the new payment decision, claimants have insufficient information to identify whether any overpayments or underpayments have been calculated correctly.
Similarly, claimants who previously received UC and then make a new claim lose all access to their previous online journal because it is overwritten by a new one.
This is a problem for claimants who want to challenge a termination of their award and for those looking to resolve outstanding issues on the original award.
Claimants in this position can only access their previous online journal information by querying the information available via the UC helpline, applying for a subject access request or waiting for the information to be reproduced in the paperwork prepared for a challenge of the decision at Tribunal.
Design of the UC system is opaque:
CPAG sees the same mistakes in UC decision making and administration time and again but the lack of transparency on its design makes it difficult or impossible to interrogate whether errors are automated or clerical, and if clerical, the reasons why those aspects of the system have not been automated.
To make UC more transparent at an operational level, the DWP must:
Make information on the system’s design available.
Explain how officials interact with the digital systems and publish its guidance for officials, and information on how it is applied.
At a system-wide level, the DWP must make the source code for UC publicly available, as is required by the Government Digital Service’s service standards.
The Department has committed to publishing the code for personal independence payment and pension credit but not UC.
Child Poverty Action Group’s head of policy and research Sophie Howes said:
“At its best, digitised universal credit makes it easier to claim. But at worst, it rides roughshod over rule-of-law principles and leaves claimants without enough money to live on. Try telling a mother of three that the computer says No to support for all of her children just because there’s a bureaucratic delay in the paperwork for one child. The DWP must take the wraps off UC so that its workings are transparent. There are low-cost changes the department can make to ensure digitalisation improves UC so that it’s fair, in line with regulations and capable of getting correct payments to all claimants. Almost half of children will be in households claiming UC when it’s fully rolled out, so getting it right is imperative.”
This is all pretty damning and shows what we have known for years. The Universal Credit system isn’t fit for purpose and certainly doesn’t run on a system of help and compassion.
This causes many claimants to drop their claims for UC because of its complexity which causes distress.
Thanks to Child Poverty Action Group for undertaking this research and publishing this report. It’s hard hitting but vital reading
As I’ve previously mentioned under the proposed DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) the WCA (Work Capability Assessment) will be abolished by 2026.
To replace this it is to be replaced by one assessment which will be the PIP (Personal Independence Payment) assessment. This will decide if a claimant will be eligible for PIP and if they are also eligible for the new UC (Universal Credit) health element.
Rather unsurprisingly the DWP plans to employ unqualified UC work coaches to make these decisions rather than qualified health professionals.
It will be those unqualified UC work coaches that will decide whether a claimant must undertake work-related activities
I strongly suspect, as we have seen in the past that disabled claimants will be judged upon the mood and attitude of their work coach. If their work coach is ok and in a good mood they might be judged fairly. If not then they could be treated harshly.
Basically their quality of life will therefore be dependent upon an unqualified DWP work coach.
At a recent debate at parliament Labour MP Karen Buck asked Tom Pursglove (who is the present DWP minister for disabled people) several questions about how the proposed abolition of the WCA will work in practice.
Buck asked Pursglove if there would be a substantial risk test which would be similar to the one already used in WCA assessments.
At the time of writing the WCA rules say that Claimants do not have to undertake work-related activities if there is a substantial risk to the mental or physical health of any person if you did so.
Needless to say thousands of appeals against WCA decisions have been successful on the basis that there would be a substantial risk to either the claimant or those around them.
Of course the DWP aren’t going to let this continue. How dare disabled people win their appeals and receive the payments that they’re entitled to.
Under the new proposed system the legal safeguards will no longer exist and all decisions will be made by unqualified work coaches, most of which might not have any or very little knowledge of physical or mental health issues. These issues if ignored will put claimants at risk.
Basically unqualified DWP work coaches will have sole power to make these life changing decisions.
God help us.
Buck asked Pursglove if there are any plans to introduce a mandatory reconsideration and appeal route against these decisions made by work coaches.
Pursglove’s answer was to totally ignored the question No surprise there.
He went on to make outlandish claims that work coaches would adopt a tailored approach that will allow work coaches to build a relationship with Claimants which will determine if any work related activities that Claimants can or can’t do.
I struggle to believe that this will actually happen given the fast staff turnover due to the stressful conditions that they work under. Not to forget work coaches having to take sick leave or indeed leave their jobs altogether.
So basically, cutting away the word salad from Pursglove as I’ve said above, decisions will be based upon attitudes and beliefs of any work coach, without any legal safeguards to prevent dangerous or clearly prejudiced decisions.
But Pursglove didn’t finish there. He went on to say that Claimants might be asked to volunteer in the first place building it up to mandatory placements with requirements added at a pace to suit individual claimants.
So voluntary work is now supposed to cure a claimant of all disabilities and illnesses? It’s not the first time that they’ve claimed this.
So going off Purseglove’s statements work coaches will decide the pace at which a claimant must increase their level of activity. As said above this will happen without any protection in place for claimants who are struggling to keep up therefore putting them at risk of being sanctioned.
When questioned about an appeal process, Pursglove would not answer, saying only that the DWP “will take time to carefully consider how best to implement these changes” and “ensure it provides the taxpayer with value for money and is accessible and effective in delivering for our service users.”
So if there won’t be any legal tests to decide who is or isn’t capable of work based upon the opinions of a work coach how can any decisions be challenged via a social security appeal tribunal?
Buck also asked “whether a benefit sanction that reduced a Claimants UC standard allowance to zero would remove a claimants entitlement to their entitlement to the Health Element of UC”
Pursglove’s initial response seemed positive stating ‘Entitlement to the new UC health element will only end when the functional impact of a person’s health condition improves and they are no longer eligible for PIP or as claimants earn more money resulting in their UC claim tapered away making them financially better off in work’
However this changed when he went on to say that ‘ As we develop our reform proposals we will consider how some interactions with the UC system will be reflected in the reformed system’
In my opinion this suggests that the DWP have not yet worked out many things about the new system, as is often the case.
Sadly this is par for the course for the government and the DWP. They’re always in a big rush to implement more draconian ideas upon the most vulnerable that they forget to actually make important decisions within their plans.
Whether this is done purposely or not is up to debate but I suspect they do.
I’ll keep my eye on this so expect more blogs upon this important subject.
Huge thanks to Benefits and Work for their hard work and original source of information about this subject..
Massive thanks to everyone that likes, shares and tweets my blog posts. This makes a massive difference in raising awareness of subjects such as this.
I don’t receive any payment for the work that I do and I really am struggling to keep going.
If you like my work and would like to donate to keep my blog going there’s a donate button at the top and side of this blog post. Thank you 😊
It’s been revealed in the publication of a government white paper and a subsequent report by John Pring from Disability News Forum that job coaches with no academic qualifications could be tasked with making life changing decisions as to whether a disabled person must carry out work related activities as part of their DWP commitments.
This is dependent upon whether the government goes ahead with its plans to scrap the “fitness for work” test.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has told Disability News Service (DNS) that there are no minimum academic qualifications required to undertake the role of a work coach in a Jobcentre.
It has also been revealed that it will be these work coaches who will be given the task of deciding if disabled claimants in receipt of universal credit are able to carry out tasks such as attending training courses or work-related interviews.
Many thanks to John Pring for his continued hard work in revealing the latest news from the DWP and their scurrilous plans to hurt disabled people even more.
I’ve got no doubt that the government will try and push their plans through because as we already know they care little, if at all about the welfare of disabled and poor people.
They’ll continue to persecute disabled people until they’re out of government making sure that they can create as much damage as possible until they’re forced to leave.
Vodafone Group PLC has announced a new social broadband tariff for households giving them connectivity for £12 a month. They will also give small businesses free broadband for a year as part of their new cost-of-living package.
The new Vodafone Essentials Broadband deal will be available to anyone in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.
As part of their new cost of living package they will be also offering small business owners and any new or existing customers that are eligible to upgrade free business broadband for 12 months on a 24-month plan.
Vodafone have based these new packages on research that shows that people are reliant upon connectivity to help them cope better with the cost of living crisis..
These new packages will also enable people to connect to the internet which is essential for people claiming Universal Credit and job searching.
Having access to the internet has become an essential part of daily life and life without internet access can be very difficult.
Vodaphone Chief Executive Ahmed Essam says “The rising cost of living is putting a million families at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide,”
He goes on to say “We must not allow this to happen. So as part of our everyone.connected programme, today we are launching Vodafone Essentials Broadband at just £12 a month, the cheapest on the market, and 12 months free broadband for small businesses.
“Vodafone is the only network provider to offer social tariffs across fixed and mobile, meaning eligible customers can access mobile and broadband connectivity for 72 pence a day.
“These new tariffs complement Voxi for Now and the 750,000 free sims we’ve donated so far as part of our everyone.connected programme.
“We’re on track to meet our commitment to donate a million connections by the end of this year and will continue to put the cause at the heart of our business until the problem no longer exists.”
Original source Martyn Landi, PA Technology Correspondent
Vodafone Group PLC has announced a new social broadband tariff for households giving them connectivity for £12 a month. They will also give small businesses free broadband for a year as part of their new cost-of-living package.
The new Vodafone Essentials Broadband deal will be available to anyone in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.
As part of their new cost of living package they will be also offering small business owners and any new or existing customers that are eligible to upgrade free business broadband for 12 months on a 24-month plan.
Vodafone have based these new packages on research that shows that people are reliant upon connectivity to help them cope better with the cost of living crisis..
These new packages will also enable people to connect to the internet which is essential for people claiming Universal Credit and job searching.
Having access to the internet has become an essential part of daily life and life without internet access can be very difficult.
Vodaphone Chief Executive Ahmed Essam says “The rising cost of living is putting a million families at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide,”
He goes on to say “We must not allow this to happen. So as part of our everyone.connected programme, today we are launching Vodafone Essentials Broadband at just £12 a month, the cheapest on the market, and 12 months free broadband for small businesses.
“Vodafone is the only network provider to offer social tariffs across fixed and mobile, meaning eligible customers can access mobile and broadband connectivity for 72 pence a day.
“These new tariffs complement Voxi for Now and the 750,000 free sims we’ve donated so far as part of our everyone.connected programme.
“We’re on track to meet our commitment to donate a million connections by the end of this year and will continue to put the cause at the heart of our business until the problem no longer exists.”
Original source Martyn Landi, PA Technology Correspondent
Vodafone Group PLC has announced a new social broadband tariff for households giving them connectivity for £12 a month. They will also give small businesses free broadband for a year as part of their new cost-of-living package.
The new Vodafone Essentials Broadband deal will be available to anyone in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.
As part of their new cost of living package they will be also offering small business owners and any new or existing customers that are eligible to upgrade free business broadband for 12 months on a 24-month plan.
Vodafone have based these new packages on research that shows that people are reliant upon connectivity to help them cope better with the cost of living crisis..
These new packages will also enable people to connect to the internet which is essential for people claiming Universal Credit and job searching.
Having access to the internet has become an essential part of daily life and life without internet access can be very difficult.
Vodaphone Chief Executive Ahmed Essam says “The rising cost of living is putting a million families at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide,”
He goes on to say “We must not allow this to happen. So as part of our everyone.connected programme, today we are launching Vodafone Essentials Broadband at just £12 a month, the cheapest on the market, and 12 months free broadband for small businesses.
“Vodafone is the only network provider to offer social tariffs across fixed and mobile, meaning eligible customers can access mobile and broadband connectivity for 72 pence a day.
“These new tariffs complement Voxi for Now and the 750,000 free sims we’ve donated so far as part of our everyone.connected programme.
“We’re on track to meet our commitment to donate a million connections by the end of this year and will continue to put the cause at the heart of our business until the problem no longer exists.”
Original source Martyn Landi, PA Technology Correspondent
Vodafone Group PLC has announced a new social broadband tariff for households giving them connectivity for £12 a month. They will also give small businesses free broadband for a year as part of their new cost-of-living package.
The new Vodafone Essentials Broadband deal will be available to anyone in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.
As part of their new cost of living package they will be also offering small business owners and any new or existing customers that are eligible to upgrade free business broadband for 12 months on a 24-month plan.
Vodafone have based these new packages on research that shows that people are reliant upon connectivity to help them cope better with the cost of living crisis..
These new packages will also enable people to connect to the internet which is essential for people claiming Universal Credit and job searching.
Having access to the internet has become an essential part of daily life and life without internet access can be very difficult.
Vodaphone Chief Executive Ahmed Essam says “The rising cost of living is putting a million families at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide,”
He goes on to say “We must not allow this to happen. So as part of our everyone.connected programme, today we are launching Vodafone Essentials Broadband at just £12 a month, the cheapest on the market, and 12 months free broadband for small businesses.
“Vodafone is the only network provider to offer social tariffs across fixed and mobile, meaning eligible customers can access mobile and broadband connectivity for 72 pence a day.
“These new tariffs complement Voxi for Now and the 750,000 free sims we’ve donated so far as part of our everyone.connected programme.
“We’re on track to meet our commitment to donate a million connections by the end of this year and will continue to put the cause at the heart of our business until the problem no longer exists.”
Original source Martyn Landi, PA Technology Correspondent
Vodafone Group PLC has announced a new social broadband tariff for households giving them connectivity for £12 a month. They will also give small businesses free broadband for a year as part of their new cost-of-living package.
The new Vodafone Essentials Broadband deal will be available to anyone in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.
As part of their new cost of living package they will be also offering small business owners and any new or existing customers that are eligible to upgrade free business broadband for 12 months on a 24-month plan.
Vodafone have based these new packages on research that shows that people are reliant upon connectivity to help them cope better with the cost of living crisis..
These new packages will also enable people to connect to the internet which is essential for people claiming Universal Credit and job searching.
Having access to the internet has become an essential part of daily life and life without internet access can be very difficult.
Vodaphone Chief Executive Ahmed Essam says “The rising cost of living is putting a million families at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide,”
He goes on to say “We must not allow this to happen. So as part of our everyone.connected programme, today we are launching Vodafone Essentials Broadband at just £12 a month, the cheapest on the market, and 12 months free broadband for small businesses.
“Vodafone is the only network provider to offer social tariffs across fixed and mobile, meaning eligible customers can access mobile and broadband connectivity for 72 pence a day.
“These new tariffs complement Voxi for Now and the 750,000 free sims we’ve donated so far as part of our everyone.connected programme.
“We’re on track to meet our commitment to donate a million connections by the end of this year and will continue to put the cause at the heart of our business until the problem no longer exists.”
Original source Martyn Landi, PA Technology Correspondent
Vodafone Group PLC has announced a new social broadband tariff for households giving them connectivity for £12 a month. They will also give small businesses free broadband for a year as part of their new cost-of-living package.
The new Vodafone Essentials Broadband deal will be available to anyone in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.
As part of their new cost of living package they will be also offering small business owners and any new or existing customers that are eligible to upgrade free business broadband for 12 months on a 24-month plan.
Vodafone have based these new packages on research that shows that people are reliant upon connectivity to help them cope better with the cost of living crisis..
These new packages will also enable people to connect to the internet which is essential for people claiming Universal Credit and job searching.
Having access to the internet has become an essential part of daily life and life without internet access can be very difficult.
Vodaphone Chief Executive Ahmed Essam says “The rising cost of living is putting a million families at risk of falling on the wrong side of the digital divide,”
He goes on to say “We must not allow this to happen. So as part of our everyone.connected programme, today we are launching Vodafone Essentials Broadband at just £12 a month, the cheapest on the market, and 12 months free broadband for small businesses.
“Vodafone is the only network provider to offer social tariffs across fixed and mobile, meaning eligible customers can access mobile and broadband connectivity for 72 pence a day.
“These new tariffs complement Voxi for Now and the 750,000 free sims we’ve donated so far as part of our everyone.connected programme.
“We’re on track to meet our commitment to donate a million connections by the end of this year and will continue to put the cause at the heart of our business until the problem no longer exists.”
Original source Martyn Landi, PA Technology Correspondent
The poor side of life 