Initial Work Capability Assessments: outcomes for
blind and partially ESA claimants: Wales
Key findings
1.
Introduction
This briefing contains the key findings from the most recent statistics on the
outcomes of the initial Work Capability Assessments (WCA) for blind and partially
sighted (BPS) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants in Wales. The
statistics presented apply to claims for the periods from October 2008 to March,
September or December 2013 (depending upon the individual table).
The statistics were provided by DWP following a Freedom of Information Act (FOI)
request for an ad hoc analysis relating to ESA claimants who are blind or partially
sighted. Equivalent tables for all claimants in Great Britain are in the Official
Statistics publication, released on 24 June 2014 (DWP, 2014).
1.1 Definition of blind and partially sighted
DWP administrative data has a category 'Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa'. As
this includes some acute medical conditions that do not cause vision impairment
ESA claimants with these acute conditions are excluded from the tables in this
briefing. The tables are broken down by each of the 10 non-acute conditions in
Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa detailed in appendix A.
Throughout this document, claimants with Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa with
conditions that are associated with vision impairment (as detailed in appendix A)
will be referred to as the BPS group.
1.2 Notes on the tables
The figures provided by DWP are rounded to the nearest 100. The sum of the
numbers in the tables may therefore not tally exactly with the totals given. They
also exclude any numbers under ten (which are denoted as “ – “ meaning ‘nil or
negligible’). All the percentages are therefore based on the DWP totals and for
this reason may not add up to 100%.
2.
Key findings
2.1
BPS claimants put forward for WCA in Wales
 Between October 2008 and September 2013 a total of 1,000 blind and
partially sighted ESA claimants had undertaken or were in the process of
undertaking an initial Work Capability Assessment, or had closed their claim
before the assessment had been completed.
o 50% of BPS claimants (500) were in the 'blindness and low vision'
sub-group
o 30% of BPS claimants (300) had their claim closed before assessment
had taken place
2.2
Initial WCA outcomes in Wales
 Between October 2008 and December 2013 a total of 600 blind and partially
sighted claimants completed their initial Work Capability Assessment. The
outcomes were:
 Work Related Activity Group (WRAG):
o 33.3% BPS claimants
o 50% of BPS claimants in the WRAG group had 'Blindness and Low
Vision' (this was the largest of all the BPS sub-groups)
 33.3% of claimants with ‘blindness and low vision’ were
allocated to the WRAG group
 Support Group:
o 16.7% BPS claimants
o 100%* of BPS claimants in the Support Group had 'blindness and
low vision' (this was the largest of all the BPS sub-groups)
 31.6% of claimants with ‘blindness and low vision’ were
allocated to the Support Group
*A small number of claimants in other BPS sub-groups may have
been in the Support Group but these were not recorded as the
numbers were ‘nil’ or under 10 people
 Fit for Work:
o 50% BPS claimants
o 33.3% BPS claimants found Fit for Work had 'blindness and low
vision' (this was the largest of all the BPS sub-groups)
 33.3% of claimants with ‘blindness and low vision’ were found
Fit for Work
2.3
Fit for Work (FFW) appeals in Wales
 Between October 2008 and March 2013 a total of 200 blind and partially
sighted claimants appealed their initial Fit for Work decision. Information on
the appeal outcome was available for 50% of them (100).
 Of the 100 claimants whose appeal outcomes are known, all had their initial
decision upheld.
2.4 New claims - outcomes of initial WCA adjusted to account for the
outcome of appeal in Wales
 Between October 2008 and September 2013, when the outcomes of FFW
appeal decisions are taken into account the WCA outcomes for BPS
claimants are:
 Fit for Work:
o 40% BPS claimants
o 33.3% BPS claimants with 'blindness and low vision'
 Work Related Activity Group (WRAG):
o 40% BPS claimants
o 33.3% BPS claimants with 'blindness and low vision'
 Support Group:
o 20.0% BPS claimants
o 33.3% BPS claimants with 'blindness and low vision'
2.5
New claims: reasons for assignment to Support Group
 When comparing the reasons claimants were assigned to the Support
Group for new claims starting between October 2008 and September 2013,
the reason given for all* of the 100 BPS claimants was ‘severe functional
disability’.
*A small number of BPS claimants (under 10) may have been assigned
to the Support Group for other reasons but this was not reported as
the numbers were too small.
2.6
New claims: reason for assignment to WRAG
 When comparing the reasons claimants were assigned to the WRAG group
for new claims starting between October 2008 and September 2013 the
reason given for all* of the 200 BPS claimants was ‘15 points or more at
assessment’.
*A small number of BPS claimants (under 10) may have been assigned
to the Support Group for other reasons but this was not reported as
the numbers were too small.
2.7 New claims - WRAG (15 points or more) at functional assessment split
into functional impairments
 Between October 2008 and September 2013, at initial functional
assessment all of the 100 BPS claimants assigned to the WRAG because
they scored 15 points or more, were in the sensory functional impairment
category
o Because some claimants have multiple impairments, the total figure
provided by DWP over-represents the number of claimants
o A small number of BPS claimants (under 10) who scored 15 points or
more may have come into other functional impairment categories but
this was not reported as the numbers were too small.
2.8 Incapacity Benefits reassessments: outcomes of Work Capability
Assessments adjusted to account for the outcome of appeal in Wales
 Since the start of the reassessment process in April 2011 and September
2013, a total of 700 BPS people on Incapacity Benefit (IB) were referred for
reassessment.
o 42.9% of BPS claimants (300) were in the 'blindness and low vision'
sub-group
o 14.3% of BPS claimants were still undergoing assessment
o - %* of BPS claimants had their claim closed before assessment had
taken place
*A small number of BPS claimants (under 10) may have had their
claim closed before their assessment was complete but this was not
reported as the numbers were too small.
 After adjusting for the outcome of appeals, the outcomes for completed
assessments were:
 Work Related Activity Group (WRAG):
o 33.3% BPS claimants
o 33.3% of claimants with ‘blindness and low vision’ were allocated to
the WRAG group
 Support Group:
o 50.0% BPS claimants
o 66.7% of claimants with ‘blindness and low vision’ were allocated to
the Support Group
 Fit for Work:
o 16.7% BPS claimants
o -%* of claimants with ‘blindness and low vision’ were found Fit for
Work
*A small number of claimants with ‘blindness and low vision’ (under 10)
may have been found Fit for Work but this was not reported as the
numbers were too small.
Sue Keil
National research officer (education, transition and employment)
Evidence and Service Impact
4 August 2014
References
DWP (2014) Employment and Support Allowance: outcomes of Work
Capability Assessments, Great Britain. Quarterly Official Statistics Bulletin.
24 June 2014
DWP Freedom of Information (FOI) Response to RNIB dated 23 July 2014.
Reference: 2014-2752
Appendix A
Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa (ICD10): Conditions that are
associated with vision impairment
The list below is taken from the DWP category 'Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa'.
Because this includes some acute medical conditions that do not cause vision
impairment, we have removed the acute conditions from the Diseases of the Eye
and Adnexa category and would like analysis of DWP data to include only those
people with the following 10 conditions:

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H16 - Keratitis (inflammation of the cornea)
H20 - Iridocyclitis (acute inflammatory disease of the anterior segment)
H26 - Other cataract
H33 - Retinal detachment and breaks
H40 - Glaucoma
H44 - Disorders of the globe
H47 - Other disorders of the optic (2nd) nerve and visual pathways
H54 - Visual impairment including blindness (binocular or monocular)
(Blindness and low vision)
 H55 - Nystagmus and other irregular eye movement
 H57 - Other disorders of the eye and adnexa
Acute conditions that have been removed from the Diseases of the
Eye and Adnexa category

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Hordeolum and chalazion (these are inflammatory eye disorders)
Other inflammation of the eyelid
Conjunctivitis
Foreign body on external Eye
Other Inflammation of Eyelid