Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Figure 9 of the Department’s publication Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment statistics, April 2019 to March 2026 and to the response to FOI2026/95977, how many Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment decisions for non-ESA transition claimants were recorded for each of the 10 most common individual conditions within the ICD-10 chapter “Diseases of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue” in the most recent period covered by that figure.

This table details the 10 most frequently recorded conditions in the medical condition group ‘Diseases of Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00 - M99)’ for UC WCA decisions, excluding Employment and Support Allowance transitions, January 2022 to February 2026; as aligned with Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment statistics, April 2019 to March 2026 - GOV.UK

Notes:

1. Medical condition is based on evidence recorded at the WCA. An LCWRA recommendation at WCA is established when a claimant meets any one of the relevant qualifying descriptors, which are applied on a “met / not met” basis. This means the assessment can be concluded before all health conditions are discussed and recorded.

2. Cases in which, due to evidence provided, a decision can be made without an interview-based or paper-based WCA have no medical condition information available on the analytical system data. These filework cases can relate to claimants who are severely or terminally ill, or have other complex conditions and thus may not be representative of the cohort of known medical conditions.

3. Claimants often have complex health issues and can thus be recorded with multiple conditions. Primary conditions are not identified.

4. The 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.