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Not working

CAB evidence on the ESA work capability assessment

This is the second report by Citizens Advice on the impact of employment and support allowance (ESA).

Limited capability, published in November 2009, covered the administration of the benefit, and 'Not working' looks at the assessment process.

It examines three key aspects of the ESA assessment process: who is being selected for the work capability assessment (WCA); its design and content; and how it is carried out in practice.

The main findings concern problems with each of these aspects of ESA assessment. These are that:

• Seriously ill people are inappropriately subjected to the WCA.
• The assessment does not effectively measure fitness for work.
• Application of the assessment is producing inappropriate outcomes.

You can download the report from the Citizens Advice website.

What Disability Alliance says

DA supports this important report by Citizens Advice into people's poor experience of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). We believe the WCA is unfit for purpose and contributes to disability poverty. Plans to 'migrate' all Incapacity Benefit recipients through WCA to other benefits must be reviewed urgently to prevent further people experiencing the kinds of situations revealed by Citizens Advice.

More information

• citizens advice website

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