National statistics

ESA: outcomes of Work Capability Assessments including mandatory reconsiderations and appeals: March 2024

Published 14 March 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

This is a summary of the latest National and Official Statistics on the outcomes of completed Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessments (WCA). The publication covers information on both initial and repeat ESA assessments in Great Britain.

This release includes: 

• outcomes of initial and repeat ESA WCAs to end of September 2023

• Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) information to end of January 2024:

(i) number of MR registrations,

(ii) number of MR decisions,

(iii) MR outcomes by type of decision,

(iv) Median MR clearance time.

• Completed WCA appeal outcomes for initial ESA claims with a start date to December 2022

This release does not include:

• end to end clearance times for initial ESA claims

Please note that latest end to end clearance times for initial ESA claims published as part of this release have been suspended. We will publish the suspended end to end clearance times as soon as we are able to. For more information see section 10. Please note that this does not impact the Mandatory Reconsideration Clearance Times in section 5 – this is a separate measure and remains accurate.

It should also be noted that Universal Credit (UC) has now replaced income-related ESA for new claimants. The legacy ESA scheme closed to new claimants in January 2021. New Style ESA is a contributory based benefit open to eligible claimants.

In some circumstances, UC can be claimed alongside New Style ESA. Where both benefits are claimed together, Work Capability Assessments are led through the UC claim. We are not able to report these joint WCA outcomes in our statistics.

On 8 June 2023, the department published a new quarterly official statistical series for UC Work Capability Assessment statistics. The release of these statistics coincides with the ESA WCA publication.

1. Main stories

The statistics show:

• in the latest quarter to September 2023, there were 29,000 completed ESA WCAs with a DWP decision, a 17% increase from the previous quarter to June 2023  
• of the total number of ESA WCAs completed in the quarter to September 2023, 63% were initial WCAs (19,000) and 37% were repeats (11,000)

• in the quarter to September 2023 the majority of DWP decisions for initial ESA WCAs resulted in a Support Group (SG) award (61%)

• the number of monthly registered MRs relating to an ESA WCA decision has remained low, standing at 280 in the month to January 2024

• the median time taken to clear MRs in the month to January 2024 was 40 calendar days

2. What you need to know

The sources of the statistics are:

• DWP’s benefit administration datasets including MR data

• Healthcare provider assessment data

• HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) appeals data for completed appeals

Information based on Date of Decision is reported up to 6 months prior to the publication. The delay is 9 months for the presentation of data by Date of Claim, which allows time for most customer journeys to be completed and the information presented to accurately reflect this journey.

All figures in this release have been rounded according to DWP rounding policy, as detailed in section 11.

COVID-19 operational easements

Figures for this release reflect the disruptions caused by the Coronavirus (COVID‑19) pandemic, which has led to changes to operational procedures.

DWP temporarily suspended face-to-face health assessments from 17 March 2020 while paper-based assessments continued, and telephone assessments were introduced from 7 May 2020.

Initially only SG outcomes were possible, the full range of outcomes were subsequently phased in with all of them available from February 2021.

Face-to-face assessments were resumed in May 2021, and they now take place alongside paper-based assessments (whenever possible), telephone assessments and a small number of video assessments. For more information of operational easements see the background information note.

Typical customer journey

1. Claimant registers for ESA – payment issued at assessment rate.

2. Claimant referred for WCA and completes a “Capability for Work” questionnaire.

3. If paper evidence allows, the Assessment Provider (AP) carries out a paper-based assessment. If not, claimant is asked to attend a face-to-face, a telephone or a video assessment.

4. Following assessment, AP provides recommendation to DWP.

5. DWP makes a decision based on all of the available evidence, including the AP recommendation. Those found eligible for ESA are either:

• found to have Limited Capability for Work (LCW) also known as the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG), which means they are offered support in preparing for work

• found to have Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA), also known as the Support Group (SG), where they are unable to work or complete work related activity

6.Those found to be Fit for Work (FfW) are not eligible for ESA.

7. If the claimant disagrees with DWP’s decision, then depending on the nature of the decision they will either:

(i) have to request an MR (before they can appeal); or

(ii) be able to appeal straightaway. 

Note: As a result of a High Court decision in July 2020, the MR stage has been discontinued for any claimant who, having been found Fit for Work (FfW) following a WCA would, if they appealed, be paid ESA pending the outcome of that appeal. This is known as Payment Pending Appeal (PPA). Not all claimants qualify, and it applies only to Fit for Work disallowance decisions, not decisions such as disallowance due to Failure to Return a Questionnaire or Failure to Attend a WCA.

3. Volumes of completed initial and repeat Work Capability Assessments

Most individuals who make a claim for ESA will have a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The WCA determines whether a person has limited capability for work and therefore eligibility for the benefit.

Both new (initial) and existing (repeat) ESA claimants have these assessments:

• initial assessments refer to the first assessment of the ESA claim

• repeat assessments refer to subsequent assessments

Read more about ESA.

In the quarter to September 2023 the number of initial assessments was 19,000 and the number of repeat assessments was 11,000.

Quarterly volumes of completed assessments by type of assessment, December 2008 to September 2023

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA WCA by Date of Decision.

The composition of ESA (numbers and types of assessments) has changed over time. The key features are that:

• from 2008, as ESA was a new benefit, many assessments were initial claims, or related to claimants who were migrated from Incapacity Benefit (IB)

• from January 2014 repeat assessments were suppressed in order to manage priorities

• repeat assessments were reintroduced in December 2015

• in the quarter to March 2017, completed ESA WCAs reached a peak of 270,000

• the introduction of UC from December 2018 greatly changed volumes of ESA

• the suspension of face-to-face assessments in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted DWP’s ability to complete assessments

• face-to-face assessments were resumed in May 2021

• department-led repeat assessment referrals which were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic resumed, initially on a randomised referral basis in May 2023

• in the latest quarter to September 2023 there were 29,000 completed assessments recorded, a 17% increase when compared to the previous quarter to June 2023

• of the total number of ESA WCAs completed in the quarter to September 2023, 63% were initial WCAs (19,000) and 37% were repeats (11,000)

4. Work Capability Assessment Outcomes

After the work capability assessment, claims can be placed into one of three outcome categories:  

1. ESA Work Related Activity Group (where the claimant has been found to have Limited Capability for Work, and is required to undertake and participate in work related activity to help them move towards the labour market).

2. ESA Support Group (where claimant has been found to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity, and is therefore not required to undertake any interviews or work related activity).

3. Fit for work and therefore no longer entitled to ESA.

Assessment outcomes are based on the DWP decision following the Assessment Provider (AP) recommendation.

61% of initial WCA decisions resulted in a Support Group outcome in the quarter to September 2023.

Quarterly outcomes of initial WCA assessments December 2008 to September 2023 (Percentages)

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA WCA by Date of Decision

Generally the proportion of initial ESA WCA assessments with FfW outcomes had been falling and the proportion with a SG outcome had been rising, up until March 2021. In the last 12 months proportions of initial assessments with FfW outcomes have fluctuated between 19% and 26%, and SG outcomes have fluctuated between 60% and 68%.

In the quarter to September 2023, the percentage of DWP decisions for initial WCAs falling into each outcome category was:

• 61% of outcomes for Support Group

• 14% of outcomes were for Work Related Activity Group

• 25% of outcomes were found Fit for Work

Quarterly outcomes for initial and repeat WCAs December 2008 to September 2023   

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA WCA by Date of Decision

• between 2008 and August 2013 FfW was the most common outcome for initial claims. After that, SG outcomes have been more common

• initially WRAG was the most common outcome for repeat claims, until October 2012. Since then, SG outcomes have been more common

In the quarter to September 2023, there were 11,000 repeat WCAs an increase from an average of 2,600 repeat WCAs in the previous three quarters.

This increase is due to the resumption of repeat assessments, with a random sample of cases being sent for reassessment during the period as well as claimant-led repeat WCAs due to change of circumstance.

The percentage of DWP decisions for repeat WCAs falling into each outcome category in the quarter to September 2023 was:

• 94% of outcomes for Support Group, up from quarter ending June 2023 (82%)

• 4% of outcomes were for Work Related Activity Group, down from quarter ending June 2023 (13%)

• 2% of outcomes were found Fit for Work, down from quarter ending June 2023 (5%)

This distribution of outcomes broadly reflects the groups which were reassessed during this period.

61% of decisions on initial assessments resulted in a Support Group outcome in the latest quarter. On repeat assessment decisions 94% resulted in a Support Group outcome.

5. ESA WCA Mandatory Reconsideration registrations, clearances, and clearance times

Mandatory Reconsiderations were introduced in 2013 and if customers disagreed with a decision, they could formally ask DWP to look at it again.

The number of monthly MR registrations remains low and stands at 280 in January 2024.

Mandatory Reconsiderations: Registrations and clearances, October 2013 to January 2024

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA Work Capability Assessments under Mandatory Reconsiderations – Registrations and Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances

By the end of January 2024, a cumulative total of 860,000 MRs have been registered. Of these, 99.5% have been cleared. The number of MR registrations and clearances within each month fluctuate over time:

• the number of MR registrations and clearances gradually increased between April 2013 and March 2017 as volumes of ESA claimants increased

• the number of monthly MR registrations peaked in March 2017 at 22,000 but have since followed a downward trend

• since May 2020 the number of MRs registered each month has remained low (below 500)

• there were 280 MR registrations and 200 MRs cleared in the latest month, January 2024

The number of ESA WCA MR registrations and clearances should be seen in context. Firstly, a decrease of ESA claims as UC has rolled out. Secondly, the changing composition of assessment outcomes over time. Thirdly, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, in some circumstances, claimants can now make an appeal without applying for an MR beforehand. 

In these statistics, all reconsiderations occurring after the WCA are counted as MRs. For more information on the definition of MR see section 11 of this release and the methodology note

In January 2024 the monthly median clearance time for ESA WCA MRs was 40 days.

Mandatory Reconsiderations monthly median clearance times (calendar days), December 2013 to January 2024 

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA Work Capability Assessments under Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances

MRs were introduced in October 2013. The median average time taken to clear MRs peaked shortly after to stand at 37 calendar days in May 2014. MR clearance times significantly decreased from their peak, and typically ranged from 4 to 16 days.

Since January 2020 the monthly median clearance times for MRs have fluctuated but had not risen above 15 days until July 2022 where the median clearance was 18 days. Operational changes since July 2022 temporarily impacted MR clearance times. The monthly median clearance time was 40 days in January 2024, an increase from October 2023 (32 days).

It should be noted that clearance times since May 2020 are based on very low numbers of MRs.

The MR average clearance time is derived using calendar days by calculating the median of the time taken from the date the Benefit Centre (BC) has decided the MR to be valid, having considered any new information, until the date the decision is cleared by the decision maker at the Dispute Resolution Team (DRT). These dates are obtained from the DWP Decision Making and Appeals Case Recorder (DMACR) reporting system. The total clearance time therefore includes the time taken to transfer the case to DRT.

6. ESA WCA Mandatory Reconsiderations outcomes

At the MR stage, the possible outcomes to revise the decision under dispute are:

• ‘Not Revised’ – the decision the claimant is questioning has not been changed

• ‘Revised – the DM has changed the decision

• ‘Withdrawn’ – the claimant has chosen to remove their MR request

In the month to January 2024, 69% of the ESA WCA decisions going to MR were revised.

Monthly Percentages of ESA WCA Mandatory Reconsideration by outcome, October 2013 to January 2024

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA Work Capability Assessments under Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances

From October 2013 to October 2019, more than half of the requests to reconsider ESA WCA outcomes were not revised at MR stage. Since then, the proportion of assessment outcomes where the award changed (due to a revised MR) gradually increased, with some fluctuation. The proportion of MR decisions resulting in a change in award rose from 53% in February 2020 to 81% in April 2020, reflecting the new operational approaches as well as COVID-19 impact.

Since May 2020 approximately two thirds of MR decisions led to a change in award (the number of MRs registered and cleared each month has remained below 500). In the month to January 2024, 69% of ESA WCA decisions going to MR were consequently revised. The increase in the proportion of revised decisions since 2019 should be seen in context with the large reduction in MRs, new operational approaches to gather additional oral and written evidence at the MR stage, as well as the changing composition of WCA decisions influenced by a number of factors. This includes the introduction of UC replacing income-related new claims to ESA.

290 ESA WCA MR decisions (almost half) made in the quarter to January 2024 were made on disputes about ESA group allocations.

Mandatory Reconsiderations: Proportions of decision reasons and outcomes for the quarter ending January 2024                                

Decision reason	Proportion of all decisions	(Of which had a “revised” outcome)	(Of which had a “not revised” outcome)
Customer disputes ESA group allocations	49%	60%	40%
Customer disputes FFW decision	47%	75%	26%
Customer failed to attend WCA, provide medical evidence or return questionnaire	4%	68%	36%
Others/Unknown	1%	100%	0%

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA Work Capability Assessments under Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances

Note that percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

In the quarter ending January 2024, approximately 49% of MR decisions were made on disputes on ESA group allocation. Out of these, 60% of decisions made were revised in favour of the claimant.

47% of MR decisions were made on disputes against FfW decisions and 4% related to disputes where the claimant had not followed the claim procedures correctly.

7. Appeals clearances and outcomes for initial ESA claims which started up to December 2022

The claimant can dispute a DWP decision by appealing to HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). Since the introduction of MRs in 2013 a claimant would need to ask DWP to look at the decision again unless DWP advised that a MR was not required. Being found FfW at initial assessment is the primary reason for claimants disputing a decision. The figures below focus on FfW appeals for initial assessments.

Quarterly Appeal outcomes on initial FfW decisions, for claims started December 2008 to December 2022 

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA Work Capability Assessments under Appeal Outcomes by Claim Start

The total number of appeals heard on FfW decisions for initial assessments in the quarter ending December 2022 is very low compared to pre-2013 figures, when Mandatory Reconsiderations were introduced.

The number of appeal outcomes for claims that started in the quarter to December 2018 fell below 1,000 for the first time and have continued to fall. In the latest quarter, for claims that started up to December 2022, there were 230 appeal outcomes with 48% of the appeals successful. The low numbers of appeals may be partly due to the decrease in FfW decisions and an increase in MR revision rates since late 2019, which are likely to affect the number of claimants going on to appeal.

Note: The numbers of appeals are by claim start date, therefore numbers could increase as more appeals are completed for claims started in the most recent months.

8. Health conditions and ESA group allocation for initial assessments

A person’s health conditions do not themselves grant entitlement to benefit. During the WCA, what is being assessed is the effect of someone’s health condition or disability on their capability for work, not the condition itself.

• the ESA Support Group (SG) is for those for whom the impact of their disabilities or health conditions make it unreasonable to require them to engage in work related activities 

• the ESA Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) is for those claimants who, while currently not capable of working, the DWP consider will be capable of work at some time in the future and can take steps immediately towards moving into work (work related activity)

Read a full list of descriptors for both SG and WRAG groups and a guide to the ESA Work Capability Assessment.

Main reasons for SG decisions for initial assessments by claim start date, December 2008 to June 2023  

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA Work Capability Assessments under ESA WCA by Claim Start

Note: Claimants can have multiple functional impairments, therefore appear in more than one category.

Most claimants assigned to the SG, who started their initial ESA assessment in the quarter to June 2023, were allocated SG due to health conditions linked to ‘Severe functional disability’. This accounts for 8,300 (73%) of all SG allocations this quarter. ’Severe functional disability’ has been the main reason for allocation, being over 50% since December 2015. 

There was a notable decrease in SG allocations to the ‘Physical or mental health’ risk group for initial claims started from October 2015 onwards. Volumes in this group fell from 28,000 in the quarter to September 2015 to 17,000 in the quarter to December 2015. This should be seen in context with the updated guidance on the application of risk introduced at the start of 2016. 

For initial claims started in the quarter to June 2023, 800 cases were allocated to the SG due to ‘Physical or mental health risk’, while 1,800 were awaiting/recovering from chemotherapy/radiotherapy and 170 were terminally ill.

Since 29 September 2017, claimants in the ESA SG no longer need to be reassessed if they meet the Severe Condition criteria. Information on this can be found on Stat-Xplore.

‘Adapting to Change’ and ‘Social Interaction’ remain the main reasons for WRAG allocation (with 15 points or more) this quarter.

More information on how assessments are allocated to the WRAG can be found in the background information note

Main reasons for WRAG (15+ points) allocations for initial assessments by claim start date (percentages), December 2008 to June 2023 

Source: Stat-Xplore: ESA Work Capability Assessments under ESA WCA by Claim Start

Note: Claimants can have multiple functional impairments, therefore appear in more than one category.

For claimants allocated to WRAG with 15 points or more, the most common activities for scoring points this quarter were ‘Adapting to Change’ and ‘Social Interaction’. Of these claimants, 92% scored against the ‘Adapting to Change’ activity, and 88% scored points against the ‘Social Interaction’ activity. 
 
Alongside these categories, in the latest quarter, claimants with impairments relating to ‘Lower Limb’ accounted for 12% and ‘Consciousness’ accounted for 5% of allocation to WRAG with 15 points or more. 

Other reasons for being assigned to WRAG (with 15 points or more) are: Upper Limb, Sensory, Continence, and Understanding and Focus.

9. Sankey diagram showing the ESA WCA, MR and appeal process for claims starting October 2013 to June 2023

Numbers of all WCA, MR, appeals at stages in customer journey from October 2013 to June 2023 

Source: Data tables: ESA WCA experimental cohort statistics for initial and repeat ESA assessments, by period of claim start, October 2013 to June 2023

Of the 5.2 million ESA claims with a start date between October 2013 and June 2023:

• 66% had a completed assessment, 3% were still in progress and 32% were closed by the claimant

• 410,000 MRs have been registered, following a completed WCA 

• 99.7% of these MRs, which were raised after the WCA, have been completed, with the original decision revised 17% of the time

• 25% of claimants who raised an MR after the WCA went on to complete an appeal

• of the 100,000 appeals completed, 34% had the DWP decision upheld at hearing while the remaining 66% were ruled in favour of the claimant 

As a result of a High Court decision in July 2020, MR has been discontinued for any claimant who, having been found Fit for Work following a WCA would, if they appealed, be paid ESA pending the outcome of that appeal. Not all claimants qualify, and it applies only to Fit for Work disallowance decisions.

10. ESA WCA customer journey clearance times for initial claims

DWP analysts have identified a coding issue with the process involved in creating median clearance time statistics for Initial ESA Work Capability Assessments between June 2020 and June 2023. Due to this, these statistics were suspended from this release and from Stat-Xplore on 14 March 2024.

This issue caused an inaccuracy in the measure of time taken between the point of ESA claim registration and the claimant’s WCA referral to an assessment provider (for initial claims). While figures for other parts of the process were unaffected, this also impacted the overall measure of end-to-end clearance times.

A fix has been identified to correct this calculation and work is underway to implement this fix and perform rigorous quality assurance checks ahead of us restoring this measure.

We will publish the suspended ESA Work Capability Assessment Clearance Times for Initial Claims statistics as soon as we are able to. We will provide a further update about this on the collection page for ESA WCA statistics by Friday 12 April 2024.

Please note that this does not impact the Mandatory Reconsideration Clearance Times in section 5 – this is a separate measure and remains accurate.

11. About these statistics

The ESA WCA statistics in this release are National Statistics, which means they are accredited official statistics.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in March 2017. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics  and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’. 

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).  OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Key uses of the statistics include:

• providing the evidence base for assessing the potential effect of changes, monitoring and evaluation of DWP policy

• answering Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests and forecasting benefit expenditure (in conjunction with expenditure statistics)

• policy development and evaluation by local authorities and other welfare to work and pensions stakeholders and providers

This release only includes ESA WCAs. 

This release does not capture: 

• UC WCAs 

• UC MRs 

• UC appeals 

Recent trends in these ESA WCA statistics will be affected by the roll out of UC. 

On 8 June 2023, the department published a new quarterly official statistical series for UC Work Capability Assessment statistics. The release of these statistics coincides with the ESA WCA publication.

Terminology

Term	Definition
Registration	Claimant registers an application for a WCA, MR or appeal.
Clearance	DWP decision maker has determined whether the claimant should or should not be entitled to claim ESA.
Mandatory Reconsideration	Claimant wishes to dispute a decision made on their claim and requests DWP to reconsider the decision. Due to operational practices performed within the DMACR system, some MRs are recorded on the source data as ‘reconsiderations’. Therefore, for the purpose of these statistics, all ‘reconsiderations’ occurring after the WCA (for reasons typically associated with MRs) have been included within the total number of MRs.
MR clearance time	The clearance time begins from the point the MR is raised on the DWP administrative system by the Benefit Centre as a valid MR, having considered whether they can initially change the decision in the light of any new information. The total clearance time therefore includes the time taken to transfer the case to the Dispute Resolution Team and the time taken for the decision maker to make a decision.
Repeat assessment	An existing claim that has been reassessed for ESA, as opposed to a new claim. A repeat assessment is the second or subsequent WCA undertaken on an existing, continuous ESA claim, usually between 3 and 24 months after the previous assessment. These claimants will have already been assessed as having a limited capability for work at their initial WCA and the repeat assessment will assess if their capability for work has changed.

Rounding policy

Since March 2017, the following rounding policy has been applied to the statistical release. Please note that percentages shown within the release are calculated using figures prior to rounding.

From	To	Rounded to
0	1,000	10
1,001	10,000	100
10,001	100,000	1,000
100,001	1,000,000	10,000
1,000,001	10,000,000	100,000
10,000,001	100,000,000	1,000,000

Known issues, changes and revisions

DWP analysts have identified a coding issue with the process involved in creating median clearance time statistics for Initial ESA Work Capability Assessments between June 2020 and June 2023. Due to this, these statistics were suspended from this release and from Stat-Xplore on 14 March 2024.

This issue caused an inaccuracy in the measure of time taken between the point of ESA claim registration and the claimant’s WCA referral to an assessment provider (for initial claims). While figures for other parts of the process were unaffected, this also impacted the overall measure of end-to-end clearance times.

A fix has been identified to correct this calculation and work is underway to implement this fix and perform rigorous quality assurance checks ahead of us restoring this measure.

We will publish the suspended ESA Work Capability Assessment Clearance Times for Initial Claims statistics as soon as we are able to. We will provide a further update about this on the collection page for ESA WCA statistics by Friday 12 April 2024.

Please note that this does not impact the Mandatory Reconsideration Clearance Times in section 5 – this is a separate measure and remains accurate.

Where to find out more

See Stat-Xplore for more detailed breakdowns of the data covering Region, Local Authority, Ward, Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and Scottish Parliamentary Constituency breakdowns available for WCA outcomes by claim start date and completed assessment date.

Read the methodology note for more detailed information on these statistics.

Read more about ESA.

Contacts

Authors: George McLean, Sayra Abdul and Ismail Ali

Lead Statistician: Tonia Hagan

DWP would like to hear your views on our statistical publications. If you use any of our statistics publications, we would be interested in hearing what you use them for and how well they meet your requirements.

For more information on these statistics, or to provide feedback on our publication, please email wca.statistics@dwp.gov.uk

Media enquiries should be directed to the DWP Press Office.

ISBN:  978-1-78659-634-5