REASSESSMENTS ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT
I have just been transferred over to Universal Credit from ESA support group Can anyone tell me if they have any idea how quickly people are reassessed when moving over to Universal Credit. I think I heard Rachel Reeves say assessments are going to restart in April of next year. Does that mean there will not be any for existing claimants until then? THanks
Comments
-
Hello @axab43
I've also just migrated to UC LCWRA from ESA Support group too. I have been wondering the same thing.
You probably know that the Spring Statement in March 2025 published an accompanying policy document where they costed restarting WCAs from April 2026.
See the link at page 11, headed 'Work Capability Assessment: Restart reassessments from April 2026' -
SS25_Published_Costing_Document.pdfIt reads:
"These reassessments will affect those who were eligible under the ‘substantial risk’ criteria, and those with conditions with a short-term prognosis who may have recovered. This will ensure those whose condition may have changed are receiving appropriate support and helped back into work. The measure will be effective from April 2026."
So, I will be one of those claims they will be targeting first because my ESA Support group claim (now migrated to UC LCWRA) was awarded on the basis of 'substantial risk'.
Just before migrating, I phoned ESA and asked when my next review date was and they told me it would be at the end of this summer, i.e. that is what was on their system. It has been deferred twice since 2021 because of Covid. I have to assume that as well as migrating over the details of when my last WCA decision was, ESA will have migrated over that it was awarded under 'substantial risk' and, given that the date on their system for my next WCA reassessment has not yet passed, they will migrate over the date that it is now due.What I do know is that unless you were awarded under those initially targeted reassessments they intend to carry out (pregnancy risk, cancer short term award and 'substantial risk'), then the prognosis they have on their system for your next review date is meaningless. They've essentially been switched off. They will not be able to get to them until they build up capacity with the assessment providers to reassess them before they intend to abolish the WCA in 2028. Of course, it goes without saying that UC LCWRA is open ended and lasts until your next decision, anyway.
In spite of what is in the Spring Statement as a policy pledge about not restarting WCA reassessments before April 2026, I can't help worrying about it because it is possible (though, not probable) that I might expect a note on my journal imminently that they are sending out a UC50 because my claim is in a targeted category and is timetabled for review soon. The only way to know for sure is to leave a note on my journal or phone the UC helpline to ask when I am next going to be reassessed, which I might risk doing to quell my increasing anxiety. There is always the danger, though, that the act of communicating with them might invite them to see the system says that I am now due and they manually initiate a referral for WCA, which I want to avoid. It is agony not knowing for sure.
On another thread the other day, @Passerby told me that since last year they have been doing some ESA Support Group/UC LCWRA reassessments but for those claims awarded during the Covid restrictions who were assessed by telephony because they couldn't be assessed face-to-face.
Anyway, @axab43, unless your claim was in one of the targeted categories or was awarded on the basis of a telephone assessment during Covid restrictions, then I wouldn't worry that you can expect to be reassessed before April 2026. And, even then, not for a very, very long time after, if at all before the WCA is abolished in 2028 (provided it's passed through Parliament first).
That's as much as I know.1 -
Asia23, thank you so much for that detailed comment. It was very reassuring and helpful. I am coming up for state pension in four years, and I am not in any of the criteria they have listed for reassessment next April. So hopefully I might escape too much stress.
As for your case, I wouldn't contact your work coach. I read somewhere someone said they had determined not to contact their work coach (through the journal on the UC site) at all, and only discuss payments etc through the payment section as that goes to the Case Manager. Contacting work coaches may trigger them to look at your case and put in an assessment. It might not as well but better to be cautious.
Thank you again for your response. I'm going to save it and read it again when I get anxious as all this is so triggering, especially for people with mental health conditions and others I would imagine. It actually pushes people further from getting better due to the stress and anxiety caused.1 -
You're very welcome @axab43
Glad it might help to reassure you. I've also read a comment somewhere very recently (cant find the link) that work coaches have internal guidance not to refer UC LCWRA for planned award reviews for WCA because the assessment providers have their hands full dealing with new claims and UC LCW change of circumstances (deterioration). If that changes, I'm sure we'll see more people posting on the forums about it.
Otherwise, since your claim is not in any initially targeted category and reassessments are unlikely to resume before next April (as the Spring Statement policy document I shared pledges), it will be a long while yet before you get a note on your journal to say they're sending out a UC50. I know it's hard not to worry but it doesn't sound like they'll come for you any time soon, or maybe ever, if the government manages to get it passed into law to abolish the WCA in 2028.
And, thank you for your advice about not contacting my work coach. As UC LCWRA, we don't actually have an assigned work coach because we have no work search or work related activity requirements. Anyway, I've decided it's best not to leave a note on my journal to find out if my scheduled review is going ahead this summer. I don't want to risk triggering anything.
Take care.1 -
I know this post june 2025 but if you was reassessed and stil found to have **** risk would lwcra be granted
0 -
@Catherine21
See my reply to you on the other thread you tagged me on.
It is not clear at all whether or not your ESA Support Group award was a 'substantial risk' claim. Until you get hold of your health assessment report you cannot know for sure. My advice to you is to get hold of a copy of it - it is called ESA85A. Call the ESA Helpline to ask them to send it to you.
Once you do know for sure and if it is the case that you were awarded under the substantial risk provisions, then when you are reassessed, if you still meet the criteria you can be re-awarded on the same basis, provided you supply up to date relevant medical evidence. I'm assuming you've since been managed migrated to UC, in which case if reassessed and found to have substantial risk exactly as before then it will be UC LCWRA.
As you know, their current intention is to abolish the WCA by 2028/29 and use PIP as the gateway to the health element of UC. But, until we hear back from Timm's review of PIP at the end of this year, we cannot know for certain what will happen.0 -
Thankyou i will call tormorrow your right at least i will know moving forward thanks
1 -
so does this mean I would not have to do a uc review , I been on uc for a year
0 -
Hi @RachaelC assessments are still ongoing but this will depend on individual factors such as length of award.
0 -
I’m 99% certain that my lcwra/support group status is due to the substantial risk reg 35 (already have esa85 for previous wca) - placing me in the ‘red zone’.
My last wca assessment was in 2019 (it was f2f) but it sounds like that brown envelope could drop at any point in 2026 (I’ve had a 5/6 year break of wca assessments and I’m on the edge point wise - I imagine I’m now a priority………unless 5 previous wca f2f in less than 15 years with lifelong disability types makes me less of a priority)
Unfortunately my PIP review is due to start at any point this year so it sounds like there’s a major chance the wca & pip reassessment/review will overlap (the stress almost killed me last time that happened because of the fear of losing everything at the same time)
I know pip text you when a reviews about to start (which is useful when the dwp paperwork takes 2-4 weeks to arrive in the post and they want a response 4weeks from the date of the letter!) but are they now doing something similar via the uc online journal as that would be really helpful?
(Is it true that the wca due reassessment backlog is only 100k as that could be worked through by the dwp quite fast?)
Also another member on another thread wondered if pre pandemic, substantial risk esa/uc claimants that have a recent successful pip daily care element would also not be a priority (however as far as I know pip and esa/uc dwp departments operate separately from one another and don’t share info or notify the other - so that is a nice theory but likely wishful thinking)
0 -
Unless your health conditions are ‘short term’ (and maybe not even then) I doubt you’ll be seen as a priority for at least another year minimum.
There are loads of us that haven’t had an wca assessment since pre pandemic 5 and a half years + ago and one of the substantial risk regulations that seem to have been earmarked by the gov as a priority
0 -
I dont know about PIP,but LCWRA reassesments are still paused for most,despite what it may say in the media.
You can find out if you got LCWRA for substantial risk,by requesting your ES85 on your UC journal,they should send it to you in the post,and it will say on there.
1 -
Thank you but I'm not on universal credit.
I don't really know what it is.
PIP reassessment have been taking place for a while now.
My partner and I had ours last year, both paper based.
0 -
Hello @apple85
You've quoted me from a post I made in June 2025? I have since migrated from ESA Support Group to UC LCWRA and in spite of what the ESA telephony agent told me before migrating, I was not reassessed at the end of last summer when my next deferred WCA review date was in the system.
As far as I know, overdue department-led WCA reviews are timetabled to restart this month (April 2026) but I haven't any further information on whether or not they have as yet. As you point out, and as stipulated in the green paper last year, they will initially be targeted to reassess those on short awards (cancer treatment, pregnancy risk etc) and as they build capacity with assessment providers will then target those awarded for substantial risk.
I don't know where you get the figure they only have 100k WCA reassessment cases to get through. Do you mean overdue short awards and substantial risk cases? There is no published information on how many targeted categories of cases there are overdue for review in the system, as far as I'm aware. As for the backlog of claims overdue for WCA reassessment as a whole, there are over 1 million.
Interestingly, the DWP have admitted they are struggling with recruiting enough assessors. See this Daily Record article from yesterday, in which, albeit it is about PIP assessors, the same assessors also carry out WCAs:New DWP update on planned increase to PIP face-to-face assessments - Daily Record
"The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has admitted it is struggling to recruit and retain staff who carry out health and disability benefit assessments, as it pushes ahead with plans to increase face-to-face checks.
In a letter to the Work and Pensions Committee, Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms said recruitment and retention “remain challenging” due to competition in the wider healthcare labour market."
As I have read on other forums, there are still claimants who are ESA WRAG/UC LCW deterioration cases waiting up to a year to be reassessed, although the DWP recently said they are clearing that backlog faster now.
In answer to your query, if you have UC LCW/LCWRA and are referred for a WCA reassessment, yes they do put a note on your journal to notify you. You get notice that a WCA50 (formerly ESA50 and UC50) is being sent out to you, so as with PIP, you have more time to prepare and gather your medical evidence whilst the forms are delayed in the post.
I do not believe there can be any truth to the speculation you mention that they deprioritise 'substantial risk' claimants for work capability reassessment who have recently been successfully awarded/re-awarded the daily living component of PIP. The UC and PIP IT systems are completely separate. But, it would make sense if they did have the capability of doing this given that it is still the government's intention to abolish the WCA and use PIP daily living as the gateway to the UC health element. I believe this is wishful thinking, as you do.1 -
I had my wca last September and was moved into lcwra. I originally filled out a esa50 in Jan 24 and heard nothing back, and in August last year had a letter about moving to uc by Nov. So when I phoned up esa although they had received my form , nothing else was done. So my conditions are on going not going to change ,getting worse. So the substantial risk what is that for.
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 16K Start here and say hello!
- 7.7K Coffee lounge
- 113 Games den
- 1.8K People power
- 171 Announcements and information
- 25.5K Talk about life
- 6.2K Everyday life
- 511 Current affairs
- 2.5K Families and carers
- 880 Education and skills
- 2K Work
- 591 Money and bills
- 3.7K Housing and independent living
- 1.2K Transport and travel
- 652 Relationships
- 1.6K Mental health and wellbeing
- 2.5K Talk about your impairment
- 883 Rare, invisible, & undiagnosed conditions
- 942 Neurological impairments and pain
- 2.2K Cerebral Palsy Network
- 1.3K Autism and neurodiversity
- 41.1K Talk about your benefits
- 6.2K Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
- 20.4K PIP, DLA, ADP & AA
- 9.2K Universal Credit (UC)
- 5.4K Benefits and income