New claims for ESA
The latest figures on new claims for Employment and Support Allowance, which replaced incapacity benefit in 2008, have been released.
Here are some of the main findings:
Outcomes of completed initial assessments for claims started from March to May 2011 show:
- 48 per cent of claimants have an outcome i.e. decisions have been made on
their claims;
- 38 per cent of claimants had their claim closed before having a face to face
assessment; and
- 14 per cent of claimants were still undergoing assessment.
Claimants with an outcome for their claim can be broken down as follows:
- 43 per cent of claimants were entitled to the benefit. Within this –
- 21 per cent of claimants were placed in the Work Related Activity Group
(WRAG), and
- 22 per cent of claimants were placed in the Support Group (SG); and 57 per cent of claimants were assessed as Fit for Work (FFW) and are no longer eligible for ESA.
Read the full bulletin
Amanda Frewin
Research & Project Support
