DWP warned over 'rushing' WCA changes which will cost people £4,900 each

The DWP has been warned against planned changes to disability benefits assessments, as experts say they will leave nearly half a million vulnerable people worse off.

The Department for Work and Pensions has been warned over "rushing" changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The DWP has been warned against planned changes to disability benefits assessments, as experts say they will leave nearly half a million vulnerable people worse off.

The previous Conservative Party government announced in 2023 that the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) will be reformed, with the qualifying criteria shaken up. The changes will mean around 450,000 fewer people will be considered to have limited capability for work.

Tje new Labour Party government will push ahead with the proposals because it says the WCA is “not working” and needs to be “reformed or replaced”. “These changes should not be made in haste,” the Resolution Foundation said.

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“They will degrade living standards for low-income families, with 47 per cent of families who receive these incapacity benefits coming from the bottom 30 per cent of the income distribution.” The changes should be delayed or cancelled to allow “sufficient time” to ensure effective implementation, the thinktank has said.

The Resolution Foundation report added the “real public policy failure here is the underlying deterioration in the nation’s health”. They said the reform will mean around 450,000 people whose health prevents them from working will see a benefit cut of up to £4,900 a year.

Responding to the WCA shake-up, one claimant said: "I bet they will change the criteria and it's going to be Brutal they will make sure it's impossible to review your PIP and change the tribunals just watch how nasty, they said they scrapped the voucher scheme but what will replace it let's think something that will be near impossible to claim."

A second fumed: "Told you-they are just a bunch of nasty tory-tributes, gaslighting the weakest and most vulnerable in our society." And another said: "Ms Kendall has a way to go before she can match the number of avoidable deaths under IDS' reign."