Work Capability Assessment
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the award rate for Work Capability Assessment was (a) in-person, (b) not in-person and (c) across all modes in each of the last 10 years; and whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of award rates for (i) in-person assessments and (ii) other modes of assessment.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
The information requested on decisions is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
However, relevant available information on health professional recommendations has been provided in response to a previous Parliamentary Question:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-02-13/31637
The Health Assessment Channels Trial, conducted by the department between May 2022 and March 2023, compared the monetary impact of each Work Capability Assessment channel, focussing on initial claimants eligible for all channels (in-person, telephone or video). The trial found that the proportion of claimants awarded the health element after being allocated an in-person assessment did not differ considerably from the proportion awarded after being allocated a remote channel. We are working on publishing the full results of the trial in due course.
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