Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted
Decoupling UC health from work capacity raises questions about future benefit type.
Conclusion
We are cautiously supportive of the idea of decoupling UC health from an assessment of a person’s capacity for work, but it does raise an important question about what type of benefit UC health will be in the future. If it is not related to a person’s capacity for work, it can hardly be described as an incapacity benefit. If it is to depend on receipt of the daily living component of PIP, it is perhaps best described as a means-tested disability benefit, but the Government has not described it in these terms. (Conclusion, Paragraph 118)
Government Response Summary
The government restates its policy that the Universal Credit Health Element will be linked to PIP daily living awards and explains that DWP describes the element by its function for customer understanding, rather than classifying it as a type of benefit.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
As set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, in a reformed system, additional financial support related to health and disability in Universal Credit (UC) will take the form of the UC Health Element (UCHE). With the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), eligibility for UCHE will not be linked in any way to someone’s capacity to work or their work status. Instead, it is proposed, in England and Wales, it will be based on whether someone is receiving any Daily Living Award in PIP. DWP typically describes UC Health Element (UCHE) in terms of how it works and what it involves, to ensure it is as easy as possible for customers to understand, rather than classifying it as a type of benefit. Discussions are ongoing with the Scottish Government regarding the interactions between the devolved and reserved systems.