The Work Capability Assessment:
A call for evidence.
September 2010
About Skill
Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities is a national charity that
promotes opportunities to empower young people and adults with any kind of
disability to realise their potential in further, continuing and higher education,
training and employment throughout the UK. Skill works by providing
information and advice to individuals, promoting good practice and influencing
policy in partnership with disabled people, service providers and policy
makers. Skill is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.
Introduction
Skill welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence for the independent review
into the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). A number of disabled people
who contact Skill’s helpline undertake the WCA in order that they may draw
down Employment Support Allowance (ESA) in order to support themselves
during their study and learning.
Skill is a member of the Disability Benefits Consortium and endorses its
views. However we are submitting this specific evidence highlighting issues
affecting disabled students in post 16 education and training.
The Importance of Employment Support Allowance
Employment Support Allowance (ESA) is of crucial importance to many
disabled students. Without it many students would not be able to complete
courses at University or College as they simply would not be able to afford it.
Full time students who are in receipt of Disabled Living Allowance (DLA) can
benefit from income related ESA. In addition disabled students studying part
time and some full time students may also be able to claim contribution-based
ESA. For those students under 19, ESA can only be claimed if a student is in
education 21 hours a week or less.
This financial support is vital as disabled students are often economically
disadvantaged in comparison to non disabled students. Families with disabled
members are significantly more likely to be in poverty than families without a
disabled member.1
Disabled students can access study related support in order to access
learning. Students may benefit from Additional Learning Support in College
while others may draw down Disabled Students’ Allowances at University.
These cover costs associated with accessing learning, such as information in
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Office for Disability Issues: Households Below Average Income 2008/09
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alternative formats, a support worker to assist during class or assistive
software. However this does not cover costs outside of learning that may be
associated with having a disability. This is where ESA often offers vital
financial support.
In addition disabled students are less likely to gain from additional income
from part time or short term work which many non disabled students have.
While many University and College students supplement their income with
summer work and part time positions during term this is often not an option for
disabled students.
This is due to a number of reasons including:
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Barriers to employment for disabled people in general
The difficulties in finding an employer offering short term or part time work
who is also willing to make reasonable adjustments.
The fact that a lot of this type of work done by students is cash in hand or
through agencies where either Access to Work funding doesn’t apply or
where there are significant complexities in drawing it down.
For some disabled students, completing a course in Further or Higher
Education may be considerably more tiring or time consuming than a non
disabled student. For example for a student with limited mobility and high
personal care needs may find that a significant amount of their time when
not in class is spent managing a personal assistant, arranging transport
and so on. It may be impossible to take on a part time or summer job in
order to supplement income.
In addition those who have acquired a disability and wish to retrain will also
need access to ESA where appropriate. ESA could become particularly
important for those who are ineligible for further student loans (perhaps
because they went to University earlier in life) or those needing to retrain and
support a family.
The Work Capability Assessment Process
Students wishing to claim ESA need to undertake a Work Capability
Assessment (WCA). As its name suggests the WCA is focused on assessing
the individual’s capability of work. The WCA determines whether the claimant
has a ‘limited capability for work’ in which case they are placed in the work
related activity group or whether the claimant is ‘unable to work’ in which case
they are placed in the support group.
Focused on work the WCA process may be somewhat artificial for a student
studying full time. In particular activities such as walking, sitting, standing,
memory and concentration are discussed in a work context which is often
different to an education context.
Recommendation: The WCA should be adapted to allow students to
discuss the impact their disability has in a study and learning context.
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Skill is concerned that the focus on work within the WCA might create a false
connection between study and work. Specifically that disabled people
undertaking study might be automatically deemed ‘capable of work.’ While
this may be true in some cases, study and work can be very different. You
can have 'limited capability for work' but still be able to study because:
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Studying tends to be flexible and you have more control over your
timetable. This is particularly the case at University.
Colleges can draw down funds to support students through Additional
Learning Support, while University students can access support through
Disabled Students’ Allowances. Often this support is of a greater level than
can be provided in the workplace even with Access to Work funding.
Academic tasks are less physical
There is generally less pressure placed on students than on employees.
Recommendations: The WCA must make clear that study does not
necessarily qualify a disabled person as ‘capable for work’, as studying
and working can be very different.
Skill Policy Team
September 2010
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