If you are one of the 2.6 million people under pension age who claims incapacity benefit or gets income support because you are too unwell to work, prepare for major changes. From Monday 27 October incapacity benefit and income support paid on grounds of disability will disappear for new claimants. And the Government intends to scrap them for all existing claimants within five years. In their place will be a new benefit called Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). To qualify for ESA you will need to get through a tough ‘work capability assessment’. The amount you are paid and how long it lasts will depend on the result of that test
.It is hard to disagree with the principles behind these changes. As a nation we are healthier than ever. But a large group of people under pension age, many of whom are not severely disabled
, get benefits on the grounds that they are not well enough to work. The Government believes that up to a million of the 2.6 million people who get incapacity benefit or income support on grounds of disability could work given the right help and support. The new benefits structure is intended to help them do just that.But organisations representing disabled people are concerned that the new tests will cause anxiety for existing claimants, force some into inappropriate jobs, and could mean many people who genuinely cannot work because of their poor health get less money
.How it will work
At the heart of the new benefit is a test called a Work Capability
Assessment. That looks at your physical and mental capabilities and scores you
for things you cannot do. It asks first if your ‘capability to work’ is limited
because of your health. For example if you cannot walk 50 metres or up two steps
People who do not pass this test will not be able to get ESA and will have to claim jobseeker’s allowance or come off benefits altogether. Those who do pass will be put into one of two groups. People with a limited capability for any work-related activity will be put into what is called the ‘Support Group’. People in this group are not expected to work or do tasks that will prepare them for work – though they will be free to do so if they want. People in the Support Group include those who cannot walk more than 30 metres, cannot stand without help from a seated position or move between two seats, cannot pick up and move a half litre carton of liquid, have severe incontinence, cannot feed or wash themselves, have severe learning difficulties, or cannot communicate.
Everyone else – the vast majority – will be put in the ‘work-related activity’ group. They will be given ESA but will be expected to take action to prepare themselves for work and will normally move off ESA and into work within a reasonable time. They will have to attend what are called ‘work-focused interviews’ with a personal adviser who will prepare an action plan of activities designed to get them back to work. As time passes these activities to prepare for work will get more intense. Anyone who fails to undertake the required activities will face a cut in their weekly benefit.
The new ESA will normally only apply to people under pension age – 65 for men and currently 60 for women though that will begin to rise from April 2010. A few people in specific circumstances can get ESA at slightly older ages.
How much?
The basic amount of the ESA will be £60.50 a week, the same as Jobseeker’s
Allowance. After the initial assessment period of 13 weeks people in the Work
Related Activity Group will get an extra £24 a week taking them up to the same
£84.50 as is paid now to those on incapacity benefit for a year or more. That
should mean people will get more money in the first year. However, the extra £24
can be reduced or taken away completely if the conditions for moving towards
work are not fulfilled. People in the Support Group will get slightly more – £29
on top of the basic ESA. But the extra amounts currently paid to people who
first go onto incapacity benefit aged 45 or less worth up to £17.75 a week will
not be paid with ESA nor will the addition for an adult dependant such as a wife
or husband worth up to £50.55 a week. That means some people will get rather
less than they would have done under the current scheme.
The ESA will be paid to people who have enough National Insurance contributions. There will also be a means-tested version of ESA which can be paid to those who have not got enough National Insurance contributions or who have a low income and savings below a certain level. If they are part of a couple it is their joint income and savings that will be assessed. This means-tested ESA will replace income support. People in the Support Group will probably get slightly more from ESA than they would on income support and those in the Work Related Activity Group will get slightly less. ESA paid on the basis of National Insurance contributions will be taxable. Means-tested ESA will not be taxable.
Existing claimants
The new system will apply to any new claims made from Monday 27 October
2008. But the government plans to extend it by 2013 to everyone currently
receiving incapacity benefit or income support as disabled. That process will
start next year. Some people with severe disabilities will be moved to the
Support Group without the need for an interview. Others will be given the new
work capability assessment as their claims fall due for review. Until they are
re-assessed the current benefit will continue. And those who would get less
under ESA will be given an additional transitional allowance to make sure they
are no worse off.
ESA will not affect entitlement to disability living allowance. But people on the highest rates of DLA will not automatically be entitled to ESA and will still have to go through the work capability assessment.
Vanessa Stanislas, Chief Executive of the charity Disability Alliance told Saga
"The general principle of getting disabled people into work is a good one. But this is a new benefit and we have concerns about the practical application and what will happen if it does not work.
The problem is that the objective seems to be getting people off benefit rather than positively moving them into work. Our concern is that many will come off benefits but will take inappropriate work. Jobs have to pay and be sustainable. More disabled people want to work than don’t. But you have to match that that desire with the support that individuals need."
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of the mental health charity Mind, has similar concerns
"People with mental health problems have the highest want to work rate of any disabled group but they need help and support to be able to do this successfully. By introducing tougher sanctions some people may be pressured to return to the workplace before they are ready for fear of being left without any income at all. Facing this stark choice will undoubtedly cause them further distress and there's a high chance their condition could deteriorate in the long-run."
More information
Disability Alliance has published a guide to ESA – 020 7247 8776
October 2008