Latest news World view News focus Campaigns Politics Mediawatch Independent Living Fund to close Work test 'not fit for purpose' Challenged on 'cheats', Miller blames media Welfare cuts mean hard times ahead Cuts threaten independent living Obituary: Graham Bool IDS: disabled people have nothing to fear Disabled people protest over cuts Osborne exemption on benefit cap Incapacity Benefit to be replaced in shake-up: reports Students warned against "scare tactics" on personalisation Equality chief predicts 50% budget cut Cuts threat to public transport Disability bodies set to be abolished Lib Dem minister warns against local care cuts Minister seeks to quell cuts fears Lib Dem demo urges social care rethink Public back winter fuel extension Fears raised over devolved public transport powers Tributes follow Jade's early death Friend on friends and allies Covert probe shows job barriers for youngsters Northants closure sparks fears for DPOs Government challenged on budget impact C4 show branded “beastly” Disabled people react to benefits payment delay Deaf drama gets air date Commission's harassment inquiry welcomed Begg hits out at government benefit cuts DLA recipients to face medical assessment Budget opens door to extra room for carers McGuire to co-chair parliamentary group Campaigners target MPs on assisted dying Concern over Duncan Smith reform stance Pistorius and Smyth claim gold while weary Weir founders Fear of coalition cuts heads TUC agenda Cool welcome for new man at DWP Tory leader tackled on schools bias Brits’ victory hopes pricked in marathon double puncture Thriller mystery: cover star Barr's drama silenced Lords ruling sets employment precedent Tributes paid to David Morris Disabled actor gets Albert Square axe Anger as ILF changes threaten independent living Paralympics provides change potential, says Shaw Charity launches shared surface legal challenge Assisted suicide: guidelines strive for neutral tone BBC man’s TV killing confession sparks investigation MD poster condemned by rights activists Openmind closure fear Mills planning 'fake' disabilities show Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson to join House of Lords Fears remain on future of Attendance Allowance Channel 4 to broadcast 2012 Paralympics Review highlights student finance meltdown Government goes big on mental health EHRC to launch harassment inquiry Paralympic athlete drags himself to plane New equality commissioners appointed Hospitals failing people with dementia Paralympics excluded from free-to-air list Swiss could call time on assisted suicide GB sign off atop medal chart Forecourt chip and PIN concern Arts Council cuts bite in south west Autism bill awaits royal sign-off Councils pay cash following ombudsman ruling Simmonds shining light as GB swimmers hit gold seam Ombudsman blasts Bury Council neglect Disablist abuse for Guardian blogger Club toilet attack leaves blind man unconscious CONFERENCE: Cameron: Pilkington thugs "vile" CONFERENCE: Hague slams Brown’s DDA boast CONFERENCE: Harper denies Tory benefit scare tactic CONFERENCE: Cameron launches back to work agenda Storm over TV show punt Pilkington verdict: communication failure major factor CONFERENCE: Exclusive - Hope kills DLA threat Patients feel “unsafe” on mental health wards Leaving town: Welsh report says bad access and attitude drives shoppers away CONFERENCE: Scope bucks charities’ negative conference trend CONFERENCE: Public transport going nowhere say disabled delegates CONFERENCE: Social care needs overhaul say Lib Dems CONFERENCE: Equality chief fails to steady Lib Dems on disability CONFERENCE: Cable gives pledge on mental health CONFERENCE: Lib Dems call for disabled councillors' funding Schoolkids need lessons in disability Eviction would mean death says disabled woman Blue badge database for London Document Actions
Work test 'not fit for purpose'
Sunil Peck
Campaigners have welcomed an independent review of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA, but have warned that the system for determining whether or not people are capable of being moved off benefits and back into work will continue to fail disabled people.
The independent review is the first of five statutory annual reviews of the WCA and was carried out by Professor Malcolm Harrington, an occupational health specialist.
Professor Harrington found that the assessment which decides whether someone will receive Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), is failing because questionnaires are "lengthy" and sometimes difficult or impossible to fill in and that assessments fail people with fluctuating conditions because they rely on stock questions such as whether or not a claimant can load a washing machine.
The review has put forward recommendations including the introduction of mental health specialists in medical assessment centres to spread good practice; reducing reliance on the medical assessments and giving more power to job centre staff; Improving communications and the level of support provided to those who undergo a WCA and Ensuring the medical assessment is transparent by, subject to an initial pilot, recording all assessments.
The Minister for Employment Chris Grayling accepted the recommendations and said that Professor Harrington's review was a "crucial" step to helping thousands of people into work.
He said: "It’s in everyone’s interest that we get the WCA right and Professor Harrington’s recommendations will make the assessment fairer and more effective."
Dr Mark Baker, Co-Chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, said: "The extent of the Review’s recommendations clearly indicate that the current WCA process is deeply flawed and the Government needs to make sure that, once they have implemented the recommendations, these issues are fully resolved.
They should not proceed with moving claimants of older incapacity benefits onto ESA, via the WCA, until it is clear that the assessment is working fairly and effectively."
Neil Coyle, Director of Policy at Disability Alliance, said that the coalition government's response would not reassure disabled people that the system would be made fairer because of a desire in the DWP to cut the number of ESA claimants.
Commenting on the uncertainty over how long the government might take to implement the recommendations, he said: "Thousands of disabled people will remain inadequately served by the test and inappropriately directed to insufficient support. Costs to taxpayers will continue to rise through high numbers of avoidable appeals and DWP incurring avoidable costs."
Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of Scope, said that he hoped that the recommendations would increase disabled peoples' confidence in the WCA.
But he added: "Disabled people face a myriad of barriers to employment, from practical to social and psychological. We urge Professor Harrington to make it his priority to look at how the WCA takes into consideration all of these barriers and therefore give a more accurate representation of someone’s likelihood to get a job."
WCA UNFIT
Posted by sarntcrip at 20 Jan 11 10:49
SURELY Implementing a work capability assessment must be illegal!
one also wonders if a disabled person says they are not fit to work
and is contradicted by the wca but goes on to win the appeal whether
an action for defamation of character could then be won after all those of us who cannot work are basically being told we are liars inspite of copious amounts of evidence from the myriad of forms held by dwp and records of care packages held by social services meanwhile the private company(which presumeably must incorporate a profit margin
in what it charges the taxpayer for this unfit for purpose WCA THE WCA SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT BYMEDICALLY QUALIFIED STAFF AT LEAST TO GP LEVEL surely scope has lawyers who canreserarch the legality of rolling out a flawed process across the nation to existing claimantsIT STINKSwhere is the opposition leader on this?
as loud as a mouse!It is wrong to leave us in this limbo not knowing when or if we will be assessed yet again andhow much moneythe government will steal back from us they already get 20% in vat
Ifor one am sick of being labelled a scrounger by people who cannot even be honest about their expenses
WCA UNFIT
Posted by Jayne Linney at 01 Feb 11 13:30
I could not agree more and unfortunately believe things can only get worse. I also think it is about time someone challenged the legality of a benefit system that starts with the premise that we, as applicants/recipients, as liars as this appears to be in direct opposition with the Law wherein a person id deemed innocent until proved guilty, I'd willingly contest this if I could afford the legal support
esa
Posted by paula gallimore at 12 Feb 11 22:32
surely it is not wtite for the goverment to decide on whether some one with a diability is fit to work or not,what about those who have flucktuating condtions they cannot garantie,that they can go in to work each day,or what they will be like from hour to hour,there will be people who are disabled living on the streets because of this new work test,as we are not told that they will give us a job we are just told we will be taken off our benefits and put into the job market where you are competing with the fit abled bodied.by sunil peck Disability now magazine
