Disability


There are “Limited Capability for Work” and “Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity” elements of UC, mirroring the two components paid during the main phase of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for existing claimants (see Chapter 4). However, like the work-related activity component of ESA, the Limited Capability for Work element is abolished for new claimants from April 2017.

Government guidance on claiming UC if you have a disability or health condition sets out that the extra payments are intended to pay for “extra challenges in your life which cost money”. There are two levels of payment, “one for people who need the most support and a lower rate for people who need less”. Claimants “may be asked to attend a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to see if your health condition or disability affects your ability to work.”

The guidance explains that a WCA will help a decision maker decide if the claimant:


• is fit for work;


• is able, with support, to prepare for work at some time in the future; and


• has significant limits on their ability to prepare for work.


The assessment will check a person’s day-to-day ability rather than taking a snapshot. It will give the claimant the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time and allows Universal Credit to consider how changes in a condition may affect a person’s ability to do or prepare for certain types of work.


WCAs are the subject of much criticism (see page 53), and public services union UNISON has compiled information on the impact of cuts in welfare on disabled people. This includes research by Demos/Scope showing that by 2017-18 around 446,000 disabled people will collectively lose £2.2 billion as a result of the move to UC.