The Government is going to make changes to WCA. This is the assessment for the health element of Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance (ESA). These will only affect new claims, and will not come into effect until 2025.

The Government wants to reduce the number of people who are declared unfit for work. This means people who are found too unwell to work and have no requirement to look for work to receive benefits.

Under the changes, more people are expected to be declared fit for work and will be required to look for jobs or have their benefits cut.

It’s deeply worrying. It could force disabled people to look for work when they aren’t well enough. We will keep campaigning against this.

These changes will end up pushing disabled people further away from work and plunging more people into poverty.

While I agree with the posts that it does not specifically state Disabled, and make reference to the scope section My problem is the changes being made to thI have always stated that I did not want the Assessment process scrapped but e Assessment process, above and the highlighted section. says it all.

  I did not see any improvement in the care or administration of Health Care, yet they say they are making changes to the Works Capability Assessment?  We have all seen some of the changes that they want to bring in, including reducing the number of points given or reducing the number of points that could be achieved by removing answers that apply.

  All I see is OUR MONEY being spent on ADMIN (NOT OURS) and getting companies to review the assessment process costing MILLIONS OF POUNDS and what has changed?  Has the lengths of time to get treatment changed, has the ability of the Job Centers to actually get people into the Job centers to discuss their options or give them courses to improve their skill factors?  NO.  

  Why are we still fighting to get anything?  Is there anything about the NHS in the statement?  YES, we have cut the rate of income tax so that not only the police, Fire and NHS will all be better off?  by around £350 A YEAR  That's about £7 a week, BUT THIS IS BASED ON A PERSON EARNING £35,000+   What about everyone else?

  MY POINT: Its not as though he doesn't know he has a problem with payments and care of the sick, long term sick and more importantly the Disabled, which is going up year on year because the care or Duty of Care is just not their.

  How can you improve your quality of life when every rise, and I welcome the other 6.7% rise in penson if 85% of this figure like the 10.1% is lost in tax.

  If you wanted the pensioners to receive something the rise should have gone onto the Applicable Amount meaning that less money taken from the pensions would be taken and actually giving the pensioner or the Disabled more money in their pocket.  By putting it onto ANY MEANS TESTED BENEFIT, is really giving back to the government the rise you have just awarded.

  e.g only:  Excess income £40, 10.1% increase = £44.04, amount after tax = £6.06 you get

add another 6.75% = another 90p after tax.

Imaging adding it to you PIP or DWP non means tested benefit?

  16.80% to Care component and the same for Mobility allowances?  

Sorry not a fan of this budget?  Or the changes to disability assessment without seeing how a person who has no experience of Assessment is allowed to say what the new assessment should look like.

  The person that has the final say, needs to negociate with unions to get the correct assessment for the needs of the claimant.  I used to write risk assessments and method sattement every day for the last 45 years.  EACH Statement was checked and a Duty of Care was applied to reduce the risk of further needs of treatment, by getting it right first time.