Article published: Tue 24th January 2012
On the day that the latest figures on Employment and Support
Allowance (ESA) are published, SAMH has released a new report
challenging the accuracy of assessments for the benefit.
SAMH's
report, "Up to the Job?," is based on a study of
around fifty people who have recently gone through a Work
Capability Assessment (WCA): the eligibility test for ESA. It found
that almost three-quarters of respondents did not feel that the
person conducting the assessment understood their
condition.
The report,
the latest publication from SAMH's "Dismissed?" campaign
for fairness in mental health and employability, also found that
none of
those who had seen the report of their assessment thought it was
accurate. The findings suggest that the Government's changes to the
test, which were intended to address initial criticisms of its
accuracy, have not yet had the desired effect.
Billy
Watson, SAMH Chief Executive said
"People with
mental health problems need to be able to rely on the benefits
system's ability to understand and assess the difficulties they
face. We support attempts to help people with mental health
problems get back to work - but the assessment process must be
improved".
One of the
respondents in the study said
"At my first assessment the first question I was
asked was "did I wash and how often". That was demeaning. Surely
the focus should be what we can do to help you to get back to
work."
Changes to the
WCA were introduced following Professor Malcolm Harrington's
independent review in November 2010, which found that the test
could not always accurately assess mental health problems. SAMH is
concerned that if the Government does not improve an
assessment process which it admits is flawed, then the 186,000
people currently receiving Incapacity Benefit in Scotland will face
an unfair process when they are assessed for ESA. "Up
to the Job?" recommends improvements to the descriptors on which
ESA decisions are based, as well as changes in the way that
evidence is collected to support claims for ESA.
Back