Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the scoring for Work Capability Assessment applicants with mental health problems has been loaded to make it more difficult for women to qualify for the support group than it is for men; and, if so, why.

The Regulations that implement the measure making changes to how repeat claims for Employment and Support Allowance are dealt with were laid before Parliament on 5th March.

The Regulations can be found at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2015/437.

The criteria for eligibility for the support group in Employment and Support Allowance remains the same for men and women.

The updated guidance for healthcare professionals on the assessment of risk in claimants with a Mental Health condition was developed with input from senior psychiatrists. It differentiates between men and women in relation to suicide risk because the suicide rate in men is significantly higher than in women.

The guidance makes clear that the assessment of risk needs to focus both on the claimant’s health and whether the claimant could cope with work-related activity.