Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the response by the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work of 12 September 2017 to the letter from the hon. Member for Edinburgh East, on stopping of repeated work capability assessments for people who have lifelong, progressive, degenerative or incurable conditions, how that status will be determined; and whether people with such conditions who are already in receipt of employment and support allowance will be required to undergo a further work capability assessment to determine that status.

We will consider whether a claimant meets the criteria for stopping routine assessments as part of our existing WCA process, which involves assessing individuals against a set of functional descriptors to determine how their illness or disability affects their ability to work. The criteria are being considered as part of a claimant’s initial or next WCA.