ESA – Research says "mixed reaction" from customers & staff

Submitted by Paul Convery on Sun, 07/03/2010 - 8:54pm

New research published by DWP shows staff and customers have mixed feelings about the new system that replaced Incapacity Benefit in October 2008.

The findings say that JCP staff were generally very positive about the policy behind ESA which essentially divides claimants into two categories: a Work-Related Activity Group and a Support Group. However, their “day-to-day work was affected by a range of problems” many of them administrative and which have subsequently been resolved. They also experienced difficulties arising from “the unexpectedly severe perceived health problems of some customers assigned to the Work-Related Activity Group.

The evidence about customers revealed some significant difficulties:

• Although customers found making an initial claim relatively simple, some “were confused by a lack of information on the claim process, or frustrated by delays”
• Some customers reported struggling to complete the ESA 50 form, a questionnaire which asked about how their illness or disability affected their ability to complete everyday tasks.
• Most customers did not understand the ESA categories or understand why they had been placed in a particular group
• The “views of customers in the Work-Related Activity Group were mixed”. Some welcomed the support offered in Work-Focused Interviews, felt the advisers were sensitive and sympathetic, and welcomed discussion of potential alternative occupations.
• Others – those who felt too ill to ever work again, or felt that their age, skill level or local demand for labour were unfavourable – viewed Work-Focused Interviews as inconsequential.
• Some customers who were found to be Fit for Work at the Work Capability Assessment were highly critical of this decision, although others accepted it.

The report is based on qualitative research with fieldwork carried out in Summer 2009 in four Jobcentre Plus districts in. It involved interviews with 38 staff working on ESA and 40 customers who had applied for ESA. The research is published at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rpor...