Posted: Thursday 24 November 2011
The mental health charity Mind has today reiterated its concerns about the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) as Professor Malcolm Harrington publishes his second annual review of whether the test is a fair and effective way to determine whether people are fit to work.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, said:
We welcome Professor Harrington’s latest report and his ongoing work reviewing the WCA.
However, fundamental concerns remain about the WCA and its ability to accurately assess whether or not people with mental health problems are able to seek work.
The test remains too focused on people’s ability to function, disregarding the question of whether they can cope with the more subjective stresses and strains associated with the workplace.
Since April an extra 10,000 people a week are going through the WCA as they are migrated off Incapacity Benefits, and so now more than ever it is imperative that the test is effective and the Government is genuinely supporting people with mental health problems through this process.
We are disappointed that our recommendations on how to improve the test , which Professor Harrington asked us to do in light of his 2010 findings, have not been met with more enthusiasm by the Department for Work and Pensions and the slow pace with which our suggested improvements are being implemented.
It is also worrying that some of the Government’s actions in the last year, such as the changing of certain descriptors and the introduction of extra conditionality to the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) of the Employment Support Allowance (ESA), have fallen outside the scope of this review despite impacting on applicants.
We would urge the Government to continue working with the disability sector to speed up improvements to the WCA, and also ensure that past mistakes are not replicated in plans being made for the reform of the Disability Living Allowance.