Employment and Support Allowance

1
Employment and Support Allowance

• The first year
• (well, almost!)

2
Rights and responsibilities

• The Government and external stakeholders must
  act to provide additional help and support so
  that people can fulfil their potential. But
  making this difference also requires a clear
  response from individual citizens themselves
  they need to meet their responsibility to take
  the necessary steps to re-enter the labour market
  when they have a level of capacity and capability
  that makes this possible.

3
Remember the green paper?

• Little is done to prevent people moving onto
  incapacity benefits.
• Gateway to benefits is poorly managed claimants
  receive incapacity benefits before satisfying the
  main medical test.
• Benefits trap people into a lifetime of
  dependency.
• Perverse incentives paying more the longer
  people claim.
• Almost nothing is expected of claimants and
  little support is offered. Those who try to plan
  their return to work through volunteering and
  training perceive that they run the risk of
  proving themselves capable of work and therefore
  losing their entitlement.
• The name incapacity benefits sends a signal
  that a person is incapable and that there is
  nothing that can be done to help get them back
  into the labour market.
• To reduce the number of incapacity benefits
  claimants by 1 million over the course of a decade

4
Not as promised in first Green Paper

• A simpler integrated single benefit
• No-one worse off on ESA
• Would not effect existing claimants
• A more modern test but numbers to be reduced by
  increased support into work
• Some compulsion necessary to get people to engage
  but a positive Pathways approach

5
So how is ESA working?

• Two-thirds are failing the WCA nationally, up to
  90 in some areas
• DWP anticipated 51 failure rate
• On IB, 39 failed the PCA
• Most of those failing WCA are claiming JSA or
  coming off benefit, rather than taking up work.
• ATOS say 80-90 are in WRA group
• Numbers in support group are low

6
DWP perspective

• it is encouraging that people are being helped
  to reach their potential, and this was a clear
  policy intention from the outset as we moved from
  looking at what people can do rather than what
  they cant.
• (DWP statement in Financial Times, July 2009)

7
From Wrexham BDC

• Not collated stats on failure rates only started
  to report this week
• Today 52 came back from ATOS 25 failed - 48
  - but 15 had 0 points
• Feels more than PCA
• Around 250 to 400 a month only 4 or 5 Support
  component 2 to 4 of those passing
• More appealing helped by ESA continuing at
  assessment phase rate worried when hits
  existing claimants who lose money

8
Discussion areas

• Claims and processes
• At the medical
• Decision making and appeals
• Anything else?

9
Claims and processing

• Are people getting the right advice on (e.g.)
• Linking rules?
• Claiming IS (if previous IB claimants)?
• Options for IS/JSA and better off?
• Which ESA questions? Script problems?
• Are DWP picking up support group cases without
  the need for a medical?
• Are claimants coping with the ESA50?
• Delays in processing ESA claims?
• How are initial WFIs going?

10
At the medical

• What is client experiences of the WCA?
• Is the WCA and WFHRA being completed in the same
  session? By the same practitioner?
• Any indication of WFHRA impacting on WCA scores?
• Any issues from the physical test?
• Any issues from the mental health test?

11
Decision making and appeals

• Any problems using IB case law with ESA appeals?
• Issues with deaf clients and communication?
• Use of the medical guidance helpful, unhelpful
  or just plain wrong?
• New arguments on mental, cognitive and
  intellectual function test and problem areas
• Evidence issues? Role of the ESA50s and its own
  descriptors?
• How are tribunals coping?
• Appeal stats just in!
• IB approx 51 in claimants favour
• ESA only 30 in claimants favour

12
Anything else?

• Over to you.!