In December 2007, the Government published its proposals following the creation of the Welfare Reform Act 2007. The idea is that 80% of those of normal working age should be employed and there will be less reliance upon sickness and incapacity benefits. The view is that many people who claim Income Support or Incapacity Benefit could perform some kind of work. It is a matter of finding the type of work that is achievable for each person and providing the necessary training to gain maximum achievement. Employment and Support AllowanceThis is a new allowance which will be introduced from 27th October 2008. Up until now, two types of benefit have been paid to those who find themselves unable to work due to sickness. Where the person has made National Insurance contributions, Incapacity Benefit has been paid. Where insufficient National Insurance contributions have been made, Income Support has been paid at a lower rate than Incapacity Benefit. After the period of 6 months of illness, each person undertakes a Personal Capability Assessment with the Department of Work and Pensions where the individual’s health is looked at more closely so that an accurate decision can be made as to whether or not the sickness benefits will continue. From October 2008, the present system will be phased out and all people claiming sickness benefits will be placed on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). For the first 13 weeks, they will be placed in an Assessment Group during which their needs will be assessed. They will be subjected to a Work Capability Assessment which will determine the degree to which they can undertake paid work. This will be much tougher than the Personal Capability Assessment and it will look at both physical and mental capabilities. It will assess what an individual can do rather than what they can’t do. At the end of the 13 week assessment period, an expected 90% of the applicants are likely to end up in a “Work Related Activity” group which will work with the individual to help them obtain employment. They will receive a higher rate of Employment and Support Allowance while they are in this group but they will be expected to attend work focused interviews and take part in an action plan which should end up in their gaining employment. If an individual neglects to comply with the requests, they may find that their benefit levels are substantially reduced or that some cancellation takes place. A much smaller number of the most severely disabled claimants will be placed in a “Support” group and they will not be expected to do anything in return for their payments. However, this group will be the minority of claimants (about 10%) and so most people will have to go through the new system. These changes are likely to have a serious impact upon KCAH clients and so we will eagerly wait to see how they evolve during 2009 ! Bob Bailey

Editor