There are strong indications in the Get Britain Working White Paper that Labour is going to either scrap the work capability assessment (WCA) or alter it almost beyond recognition. There now seems little likelihood that the Spring Green Paper will simply propose minor changes to WCA activities and descriptors in order to reduce the benefits bill.
In yesterday’s White Paper, Labour argued that their aim is to create a system that “moves away from binary categories of fit for work, or not fit for work, meaning people do not need to demonstrate they are too sick to work to access financial support”.
The current WCA is entirely set up to assign people to three categories:
- fit for work
- not fit for work, but fit for work-related activities
- not fit for even work-related activities
It is hard to see how Labour’s stated aim is compatible with keeping the WCA in anything like its current form.
There are other strong hints in the White Paper that major changes are being planned.
The document argues that the current health and disability benefits system does not promote employment because:
- it is designed around gateways to benefits, not conversations about goals or access to support;
- it rigidly categorises people as either able or unable to work, instead of reflecting the complex reality and fluctuating nature of people’s health conditions;
- it leaves people judged unable to work without further support or engagement;
- it involves lengthy and complex processes that can be hard for people to navigate, with multiple assessments and too many disputed decisions.
The White Paper goes on to argue that:
“The current system focuses on assessing capacity to work instead of on helping people to adjust and adapt to their health condition. It misses opportunities to work with people to identify what kind of support could make work possible for them.”
Labour say that they want to fundamentally reform the system so that:
- is simpler to navigate;
- is trusted by people who use it;
- focuses on preventing people falling out of work;
- moves away from binary categories of fit for work, or not fit for work, meaning people do not need to demonstrate they are too sick to work to access financial support;
- empowers people to feel able to engage with employment support and try work without fear of losing benefit.
Some of these aims, such as “simpler” and “trusted”, sound like politicians’ soundbites, which can easily be claimed without tangible evidence. But moving away from categorising people as fit for work or not fit for work and allowing claimants to try employment without fear of losing benefits are much more tangible and will require genuine and radical reform.
So, we still have no information about what the changes to the benefits system will be, but it is clear that real change is coming and some of it may even be positive.
However claimants will not forget that, at the heart of any reforms, is a commitment to meet the cuts the conservatives have already imposed for the coming year and a longer term intention to reduce the rising cost of benefits.
In the end, as always, the reforms will be more about trying to save money than they will be about empowering claimants. But, as history has repeatedly demonstrated, radical money-saving welfare changes very often end up backfiring spectacularly.
