Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people in chronic mental health crisis and chronic psychosis are not excluded from the substantial risk category of limited capability for work-related activity.

People who experience severe and enduring mental health problems have one of the lowest employment rates in the UK. Yet the vast majority want to work, and with the right support many people can. Our aim is to support those who want to work, aiming to remove this inequitable approach to supporting people back to work.

We have listened to stakeholder concerns about the impact on vulnerable customers of removing Limited Capability for Work Related Activity Substantial Risk (LCWRA risk) altogether and agree that LCWRA risk should be preserved for the most vulnerable. We will realign LCWRA risk with its original aim of applying only in exceptional circumstances, whilst still protecting and safeguarding the most vulnerable, which will include those who are at serious risk of suicide or self-harm. We propose that the criteria should include those who are currently in crisis under home treatment plans and those with an active psychotic illness, which will capture those who have recently, or may require, home treatment intervention because of their mental health condition.

We will work alongside clinicians to define the criteria and the medical evidence needed from claimants and people involved in their care, to ensure the process is safe, fair, and clear.