Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposals set out in the Government Response to the Work Capability Assessment: Activities and Descriptors Consultation, published on 22 November 2023, on trends in the level of disabled people in poverty.

It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of the changes to Work Capability Assessments on levels of poverty for disabled people or people with or health conditions. The overall financial impacts of these measures on individuals have been considered in taking decisions on the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), alongside consideration of the responses to the consultation.

The Office for Budget Responsibility have published their assessment of the numbers that they expect to be affected by the changes and HMT have also published the impacts in their policy costing note that accompanies the Autumn Statement. We aim to publish an Impact Assessment in due course.