Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Set out stakeholder conversations and assessments on UC health eligibility for severe conditions.
Recommendation
We ask that the Government set out what conversations it had with stakeholders about the eligibility criteria for the protected rate of UC health for those with the most severe, lifelong conditions, and any assessment it has made about the types of serious conditions, especially mental health conditions, that might not qualify. (Recommendation, Paragraph 101) 65
Government Response Summary
The government sets out that a range of stakeholders, including several disability and charity groups, were engaged in 2017 and again in July 2025 regarding the Severe Conditions Criteria (SCC). It clarifies that any customer with functional LCWRA advised during a WCA will be considered for SCC regardless of diagnosis, if they meet the criteria of a lifelong health condition with no realistic prospect of recovery.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Severe Conditions Criteria (SCC) has been in use since September 2017 to reduce unnecessary disruption to customers with the most severe, lifelong conditions, for whom reassessment is unlikely to provide further new information or lead to a change in the outcome of their benefit application. A range of stakeholders were engaged in 2017 and involved in the development of the criteria. Conversations about the eligibility criteria in relation to the protected rate of UC health were held with representatives from Scope, Parkinson’s UK, Disability Benefits Consortium and Inclusion Barnet, Mencap, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Carers UK, Citizen’s Advice and Disability Rights UK on the 2nd and 3rd July 2025 after the UC Bill passed second and third reading in the House of Commons. Any customer who has functional LCWRA advised during a WCA will automatically be considered for SCC, irrespective of their diagnosis or medical condition. If they have a lifelong health condition, they have undergone clinical investigation and formal medical diagnosis by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional in the course of the provision of NHS services and there is no realistic prospect of recovery of function, then SCC would be advised.