Retesting for chronically ill sickness benefits claimants – policy scrapped in u-turn

People with some severe lifelong conditions will no longer face six-monthly reassessments, says the Department for Work and Pensions.

Instead, employment support allowance will continue automatically for those who have lifelong, severe health conditions with no prospect of improvement.

The testing process was criticised for failing some of the most seriously disabled and ill.

“I believe in a welfare state where you have got to be hard-headed, but you shouldn’t be hard-hearted,” the work and pensions secretary, Damian Green, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.

“We want the welfare state to work for everyone, just as we want the economy to work for everyone, and there are a group of people for whom constant reassessment is pointless and which does increase their stress and anxiety levels.”

It is not yet clear which illnesses will qualify for continuous payments without reassessment.

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