3 March 2017
Removal of the limited capability for work element from 3 April 2017
The Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Regulations 2017 (SI 204/2017) were published this week and remove limited capability for work element in UC.
From 3 April 2017, anyone making a new claim to UC on grounds of a health condition and who is determined as having limited capability for work would be affected by the changes. Existing UC claimants whose circumstances change so that they are determined as having limited capability for work will not receive the additional element. Similar changes also apply to the same element in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
However, the Regulations protect certain claimants including:
- Those already receiving the limited capability for work element
- Those who have made or are treated as having made their claim for UC before 3 April 2017 but who are awaiting an assessment of their limited capability for work or work-related activity;
- Those who have made their claim before 3 April 2017 and who have appealed against a decision that they are fit for work and as a result found to have limited capability for work.
According to the explanatory notes accompanying the Regulations, the DWP estimate around 55,000 new claimants will be affected by the changes to ESA and UC on the grounds of a health condition in 2017/18. This rises to 110,000 in 2018/19, 160,000 in 2019/20 and 190,000 in 2020/21.
The limited capability for work and work related activity component (LCWWRA) is not affected by this change.