Universal Credit: Work Capability Assessment
(asked on 9th October 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants are awaiting a Work Capability Assessment reassessment; and how many and what proportion of those claimants have been waiting (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to 12 months, (d) one to two years, (e) two to three years and (f) more than three years.
Answered by
Stephen Timms
Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
As of 12th June 2026, there were 2,284,700 Universal Credit claimants with a current Limited Capability for Work (LCW) or Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) determination whose recommended reassessment date had passed and who had not subsequently undergone a further Work Capability Assessment.
These claimants are broken down below by the length of time between their recommended reassessment date and 12th June 2026:
| Number of claimants | Percentage |
Less than 3 months | 195,200 | 9 |
3 to 6 months | 231,700 | 10 |
6 to 12 months | 361,200 | 16 |
1 year to 2 years | 460,500 | 20 |
2 to 3 years | 340,400 | 15 |
More than 3 years | 695,800 | 30 |
Total | 2,284,700 | 100 |
Notes:
- The Healthcare Professional who conducts the Work Capability Assessment advises the DWP Decision Maker when an individual may need to be reassessed, based on when their condition or functional capability is expected to improve. This recommended timeframe is recorded on the claimant's Universal Credit account as the ‘prognosis period’ and has been used to determine the recommended reassessment date shown in the table above.
- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100 and the data supplied is based on bespoke analysis of Departmental datasets, and has not been certified as National Statistics or Official Statistics.