Campaigners for British Disability Rights Protest Planned Changes to Work Capacity Assessment

Campaigners for disability rights in Great Britain are protesting planned changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) they believe will force thousands of disabled people into poverty. Welfare rights activists have targeted the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) planned revisions to the WCA, claiming that the new rules will cut off benefits for thousands of disabled people. 

In “Building Bridges to Work,” the DWP proposed benefits claimants be reassessed so many can be taken off “inactive benefits” and then they be put on “more appropriate benefits that provide greater employment support.” The Department reports the WCA will ensure that appropriate account is taken of an individual's adaptation to his/her condition or disability.

According to Neil Coyle, policy director at Disability Alliance the system still needs to be more personalized. “The WCA is not flexible enough to reflect the needs of disabled people,” Coyle commented. “An independent analysis is required to prevent the wrong assessments from being issued, which will put people on the wrong benefits at a lower rate than they should receive and cause a cost to restricted public resources through expensive appeals.”

The Government is advised to team with employers to ensure “no-one is written off., though it does not state how they plan to tackle discrimination at work. (workersxzcompxzkit)

An independent review is presently being commissioned and will report its first findings later this year.