According to DWP figures, the number of people on the highest rate of Universal Credit with no support to look for work has almost quadrupled since the pandemic.
About 1.8 million people are now in the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA) category – a situation the Labour Government blames on the “broken” Work Capability Assessment inherited from the Conservatives.
The number of young people aged 16-24 on LCWRA has risen by 249% from 46,000 to 160,000 since the pandemic. Ministers said this demonstrates a worrying increase in the number of people becoming trapped in inactivity early in life, with almost one million young people not in education, employment, or training.
Liz Kendall, Work and Pensions Secretary, is due to announce radical welfare reforms, which she says will “create a thriving and inclusive labour market” as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.
Kendall said: “Millions of people have been locked out of work by a failing welfare system [that] abandons people – when we know there are at least 200,000 people who want to work, and are crying out for the right support and a fair chance.
How life insurance can benefit your health and wellbeing over the decades
Sponsored by Post Office
“This Government is determined to fix the broken benefits system we inherited so it genuinely supports people, unlocks work, boosts living standards while putting the welfare bill on a more sustainable footing.”
A ‘dysfunctional’ system
The DWP blasted the current system as “dysfunctional” as the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) places a person in binary categories of either ‘fit for work’ or ‘not fit for work’.
Through this process, those not fit for work are told they have LCWRA, meaning they won’t receive employment support or further engagement from the system at any point following their assessment – effectively abandoning and locking them out of work indefinitely.
The current system sees people 25 and over on the standard rate of Universal Credit get £393.45 per month and those with a health condition get an additional £416.19. Kendall said this gives an incentive for people to say they can’t work – and get locked out of help and support – simply to get by financially.
Over the past five years, 67% of people on Universal Credit who have been through a WCA were considered LCWRA – Labour said this is a “symptom of the assessment system pushing people to prove their inability to work for a more generous payout.”
The Government said it will either reform or replace this system, so it no longer drives people who want to work to a life on benefits.
Related: Over 1.5 million kids miss out on Universal Credit payments due to two-child limit
