The UK Government’s Back to Work Plan and reforms to Work Capability Assessments: FAQs

There is going to be more emphasis on finding work and on working from home, with the risk of benefits being reduced or cut if people do not look for work.

What’s important to know is that if you're already in the benefits system, you won't suddenly be expected to find work or lose your benefits.

Some of the changes will be rolled out in 2024, but some will not come in until at least 2025 and will only apply to new applicants.

The UK Government’s Back to Work Plan outlines how it plans to tackle long-term unemployment, including supporting and incentivising unemployed Universal Credit (UC) claimants to find work.

The Government is proposing tougher measures and introducing potential new sanctions to those receiving UC, Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for people it deems fit for work, but who are currently not in work. A benefit sanction means that a benefit is stopped or reduced.

Under the Back to Work Plan, interventions intensify the longer a claimant remains unemployed:

• Phase 1: Unemployed claimants across Great Britain will receive regular support from a work coach to search for and move into work.
• Phase 2: If a claimant is still job hunting, they will be referred to a scheme called Restart which covers England and Wales. The scheme will provide 12 months of intensive training to tackle the barriers to employment.
• Phase 3: Claimants in England and Wales who are still unemployed after 12 months on Restart will take part in a claimant review point. If no suitable local job is available immediately, claimants will be required to accept a time-limited mandatory work placement or take part in other intensive activity, designed to increase their skills and improve their employability.

If this is refused, without reasonable reason, the Universal Credit claim will close. This will also end access to additional benefits such as free prescriptions and legal aid.

Secondly, the Government is also reforming the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

This is an assessment to decide how much your illness or disability limits your capability to work if you declare a health condition when applying for benefits.

The aim of the changes is that more people, including those with limited mobility and mental health conditions, could in future be declared fit for work. RNIB responded to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consultation held in October on this issue to express our concerns about how these could affect claimants.

Many people receiving ESA currently qualify for LCWRA (limited capacity for work-related activity) on what are known as the substantial risk provisions. This is where a claimant can be treated as having LCWRA if there would be a substantial risk to their mental or physical health, or to the physical or mental health of someone else, if they were found not to have LCWRA.

People with severe sight loss have so far been deemed to have LCWRA. The new changes would limit the “substantial risk” provision only to those with “active psychotic illness”. Other conditions, including severe sight loss, will no longer qualify.

Nothing is changing immediately.

The new model of Universal Credit sanctions will be rolled out gradually from 2024.

The reforms announced to the Workplace Capability Assessment are due to come into force by 2025, which will be after the next general election. The changes announced will only apply to those who make a claim after the changes are implemented.

If there is a change in government following the next General Election, the plans may be paused, stalled, or changed.

Who will be affected?

This news affects those who claim UC, income-related ESA and income-related JSA - at least until such time as all claimants still in receipt of those benefits are migrated to UC, which the Government plans to have completed over the next 5 years.

The Government has committed to not reassessing the majority of people who have LCWRA status already.

Reassessments for people who are already in this category will only take place in very limited circumstances, such as where a claimant reports a change of circumstances in their health condition, or if there is a case of suspected fraud.

We strongly oppose the announcement to introduce tougher rules around the requirements to look for work, which will apply to some out of work benefits.

Blind and partially sighted people make an incredibly valuable contribution to society, but we know work isn’t possible in all circumstances. Our view is that harsh sanctions are unjust, unnecessary and won’t work.

We believe that these changes are the wrong focus for moving people with sight loss into work. Many blind and partially sighted people are keen to work but find themselves coming up against persistent obstacles. If the Government is serious about creating job opportunities for disabled people it needs to invest properly in high quality, tailored employment support for disabled people and to fix the Access to Work scheme.

RNIB’s advice service supports blind and partially sighted people with questions about their entitlements and our Legal Rights Service regularly helps people with sight loss to appeal against decisions that may be wrong or unfair. You can find our contact details at the end of this page.

RNIB is using its expertise and experience to present evidence and examples to decision-makers and civil servants in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to influence the development of its plans. RNIB also shares its briefings with MPs of all parties to influence parliamentary debate and discussion on health, work and benefits.

Improving the understanding of DWP staff is critical so that assessments and decisions are of a high quality. A number of DWP staff have undertaken sight loss training from RNIB which we hope will improve knowledge and understanding of how vision impairment can affect someone’s ability to carry out everyday tasks and to obtain or retain employment.

I’ve already been assessed as having ‘limited capacity for work-related activity’, or LCWRA. Am I likely to be reassessed?

The Government has committed to not reassessing the majority of people who have LCWRA/ Support Group status already.

Reassessments for people who are already in this category will only take place in very limited circumstances, such as where a claimant reports a change of circumstances in their health condition, or if there is a case of suspected fraud.

I was awarded ‘limited capacity for work-related activity’ (LCWRA) on the basis of my being at “substantial risk” due to my severe sight loss. Will this affect me?

If you have benefits awarded on this basis already, you will continue to receive benefits. What’s been announced will only affect new claimants after the changes are made, which will not be before 2025.

Many people with sight loss currently qualify for LCWRA on the basis of substantial risk. This is often the route to LCWRA for those who can read braille, for example, as they can’t qualify through the “understanding communication” activity.

Unfortunately, the substantial risk route will no longer be an option for people with sight loss once these changes are made.

What about people with mobility problems?

If you have benefits awarded on this basis already, you will continue to receive benefits. This will only affect new claimants after the changes are made, which will not be before 2025.

Under the new proposals, people with physical mobility problems will not be able to qualify for ‘limited capacity for work-related activity’ (LCWRA) on that basis alone. If you have already been awarded LCWRA on this basis however, you will not lose it as a result of this change.

Are there any changes for those who need help getting about due to mental health problems?

The Government says that the way that work has changed over the last decade and as a result of the pandemic, means that there is less need to get to a place of work in order to be employed. On this basis, they have decided to make changes to the descriptors relating to “getting about” in the WCA.

‘Descriptors’ are part of the benefit assessment process, with different descriptors resulting in different ‘points’ being awarded across a range of activities as a result of what someone cannot do because of a health condition. The higher the number of points awarded, the more likely someone will meet the threshold for receiving that benefit.

The DWP has however committed to retaining the highest scoring descriptor in this activity, which applies to those who cannot go outside of their home to anywhere that is not familiar to them. That means LCWRA can still be awarded in this instance.

Will the changes have any impact other than a financial impact?

The Work Capability Assessment, or WCA, not only determines whether the claimant should receive any additional income, it also decides how much work-seeking is required of them in order to receive the benefit (often referred to as conditionality).

People with LCW (limited capability for work) status are required to do more than those with LCWRA status. Therefore, it is likely that the[LC6] change to the Work Capability Assessment will mean fewer people, in the future, will be awarded LCWRA status and will be subject to more work-seeking requirements in order to receive their benefit.

Failure to meet these work-seeking requirements can result in your benefit being sanctioned. The Government has also announced changes to when these sanctions can be implemented.

‘Descriptors’ are part of the benefit assessment process, with different descriptors resulting in different ‘points’ being awarded, across a range of activities, as a result of what someone cannot do because of a health condition. The higher the number of points awarded, the more likely someone will meet the threshold for receiving that benefit.

RNIB’s advice service is available to support anyone with a question about their entitlements to benefits or employment support.

You can call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999.

We're open 8am – 8pm on weekdays and 9am – 1pm on Saturdays, or you can email us at [email protected].