DWP Implements Four Recommended Changes to Universal Credit, PIP and ESA Regulations
The Department for Work and Pensions has fully accepted four out of five recommended changes to the Right to Try legislation, with one final recommendation being partially accepted. The department acknowledged that the new rules may have left claimants without sufficient reassurance regarding their benefits.
Understanding the Right to Try Legislation
The Right to Try is new legislation designed to allow disabled people claiming Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payments and Employment and Support Allowance to try work without the fear of triggering an automatic reassessment of their benefits. The Social Security Advisory Committee recommended that the DWP make five specific changes to this legislation to strengthen protections for claimants.
Six Month Protection Period
The Secretary of State will be prevented from initiating a reassessment of a benefit claim within at least six months of a claimant starting paid or voluntary work, except where there is suspicion of fraud or a change of circumstances not related to work. Evidence that a claimant has functional capacity derived from their work activity or workplace performance during this protected period will not be treated on its own as demonstrating a sustained capability in any assessment or reassessment.
The DWP accepted this recommendation, however DWP minister Pat McFadden noted in the response: “I have asked officials to undertake work urgently to assess how this change could be delivered within my existing powers via secondary legislation. However, implementing this change in full across all benefits would likely require primary legislation, and the Department will need time to review and assess its policy and delivery implications before the policy detail is finalised.”
Guidance for Leaving Work Due to Health Reasons
The Committee recommended that the Department update guidance around sanctions and conditionality decisions so that leaving employment or voluntary work due to health reasons within the protected period will be accepted as a ‘good reason’. It urged that this guidance should also address:
- Claimants with fluctuating conditions
- Dual Universal Credit and ESA claimants
- PIP claimants
- UC claimants without limited capability for work or limited capability for work-related activity whose work attempts later prove unsustainable because of health deterioration or role unsustainability
The DWP accepted this recommendation but noted that it needs to consider how and when to put it into practice.
Improved Communications and Clarity
The Committee urged the DWP to ensure its communications, regulations and guidance of the new framework are all clear and aligned so that claimants are not inadvertently misled. The DWP accepted this, admitting it is essential for the Right to Try to work effectively.
Developing a Comprehensive Guarantee Package
The Department was told to consult with claimants, organisations and advisors to determine what full guarantee package could make people sufficiently confident that they will not lose out by trying to work. The DWP accepted this recommendation but added: “The Department will continue engaging with stakeholders and has already been doing so through the Collaboration Committee. However, ministers must ultimately determine the direction of this policy.”
Guidance for Assessment Providers
The Committee urged the DWP to immediately issue guidance for assessment providers stating that a claimant demonstrating functional capacity in a work setting should not be treated as evidence of them having a sustained and reliable capability for PIP or Work Capability Assessment purposes in the first six months. The Department partially accepted this recommendation with the minister stating: “I agree to undertake work to examine how to best protect entitlement for claimants during their first 6 months of work, but require more time before guaranteeing when or how this can be operationalised.”
Official Responses to the Changes
In response to the four accepted changes, committee chair Dr Stephen Brien wrote: “I am pleased to note that you have accepted four out of the Committee's five recommendations, with the remaining one partially accepted. While recognising that some aspects of our recommendations will take time to fully implement, I regard your response as a positive step forward in achieving greater alignment with your stated policy intent of giving clearer reassurance to claimants with disabilities or health conditions who wish to explore work without fear of a reassessment or award review. I look forward to receiving updates from the Department as further progress is made.”
DWP secretary Pat McFadden replied: “I would like to thank you for setting out the Committee's concerns in your subsequent letter. I recognise the Committee's view that fear of reassessment continues to present a significant barrier to work. I understand the Committee concluded that, in its view, the Right to Try regulations as drafted may not provide claimants with sufficient reassurance. Your recommendations therefore focus on strengthening protections, so claimants are not disadvantaged when taking steps towards work, including volunteering. I agree with the direction of the recommendations and set out below the approach that the Department will adopt in taking them forward.”
