Work Capability Assessment reforms

That this House expresses its deep concern that the Government’s proposed Work Capability Assessment reforms will expose more people, including disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to work conditionality and the threat of benefit sanctions; recognises that there is considerable evidence, including the Department of Work and Pension’s own report entitled The Impact of Benefit Sanctions on Employment Outcomes, published on 6 April 2023, that conditionality, and in particular the use of sanctions, is counterproductive in efforts to support people into sustainable work and causes unnecessary hardship; acknowledges that the use of sanctions are harmful to people’s health and wellbeing, further punishing society's most vulnerable people; notes that removing the Work Capability Assessment risks conflating incapacity and disability payments, as not everyone who is sick and not able to work will qualify for disability payments; further notes that there is no safety net for people with short-term ill-health and sickness to manage their condition and live a dignified, independent life; and calls on the Government to stop the implementation of their Work Capability Assessment changes which will lead to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions losing out financially.