Work Programme providers call for urgent action on Work Capability Assessments

• Number of assessments being processed is falling significantly below projected figures
• This is causing a delay in the number of referrals to the Work Programme for individuals who most need intensive employment support
• In turn, this is adversely affecting the sub-contractors in the Work Programme who are geared up to providing specialist support, many of them from the voluntary sector.

The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), the trade body for the welfare to work industry, is calling on government to take urgent action to ensure that the backlog of Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) is cleared by Atos, the government contractor.

A recent survey by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) highlights the concern that some voluntary sector providers have not received the number of referrals that they were expecting under the Work Programme.  

Although accepting that referrals have yet to settle down, ERSA believes that voluntary sector providers may have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the low level of Work Capability Assessments taking place and the subsequently low level of customers on Employment Support Allowance who have been referred to the Work Programme.  Many of these customers would, on referral, be in receipt of specialist services, many of which are provided by charities. 

A recent Freedom of Information request indicated that Atos has completed only 56,000 Work Capability Assessments since the commencement of the full national roll out in April.  This is against an expected figure of 11,000 cases being assessed each week in order for the government to process 1.5million cases by 2015. 

Providers have reported extremely low numbers of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) customers being referred to the Work Programme. The Government projected that around 20% of the referrals in the first year would be ESA Customers but some providers are reporting that currently it is around 3-5%.

Kirsty McHugh, ERSA Chief Executive, commented:

'It is vital that people in need of specialist employment services receive them.  It is unacceptable that the delay in carrying out Work Capability Assessments means that some of the people who need the most help are not being referred to the Work Programme in a timely matter.  This is a particularly significant issue for ERSA voluntary sector members who often provide this type of specialist employment support.  We are therefore calling on the government to take urgent action to make sure that the backlog of WCAs is cleared and we can get referrals rolling to the voluntary sector.'

Media enquiries should be directed to Philip Curry - 020 7960 6317 / 07919 622 053. 

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Notes to editors

1. ERSA is the trade association for the welfare to work industry.  It represents 90% of those organisations that have been awarded prime contractors for the Work Programme and 90% of providers for Work Choice, the government's new specialist disability programme.  ERSA's membership is split 50/50 between voluntary and private sector.

2. A response to a FOI request published on 23 September (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/foi-2310-2011.pdf) reveals the numbers having undergone a WCA to date. A statement on 25 January 2011  (Hansard: Column 6WS) stated that Atos would be processing a full caseload of around 11,000 per week. In its prospectus, DWP suggested that a maximum total of 170 out of 870 (or 20%) customers would be Employment Support Allowance customers (page17).

3. ERSA is calling for the reform of the Work Capability Assessment. Our recent submission to Professor Harrington's review can be downloaded here.