Guidance and practice for starting WCA
Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
In respect of Universal Credit (UC) claims
Please could you advise of the guidance for the waiting period for
a) starting and
b) completing
a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) (other than special rules. chemo/radiotherapy, dialysis or other such "automatic") in respect of:
i) New UC claimants
ii) Requests to move from Limited Capability to work (LCW) to Limited Capability to work and Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (LCWRA)
Please also advise of the actual current average a) starting and b) waiting times for these two groups i) and ii) by region (or the North East only if too time-consuming)
Please also advise of any guidance or practice to avoid or mitigate the loss of Work Allowance caused by the delay of LCW decisions in the case of claimants of Statutory Sick Pay or who otherwise receive wages during periods of incapacity.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Robinson
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Dear Mike Robinson,
I am writing in response to your request for information, received 25th
June.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
Dear Department for Work and Pensions,
Re: Request FOI2023/49057
Thank you for your helpful reply. I have read the document regarding the release of statistics in this area and agree with this exemption. I note that there is no schedule to provide details of LCW to LCWRA transfers but I have brought it up with the relevant team rather than pursuing the FOI in this area.
I also thank you for the guidance.
I trust this confirms that this guidance is still intended to be followed by Decision Makers and that there is no other internal guidance or procedures that cover the timing and management of LCW/LCWRA assessments. In particular, I presume that there are no specific instructions regarding the handling of SSP cases (as per my initial request)
Once again, that you for your consideration of this matter
Yours faithfully,
Mike Robinson
Thank you for contacting the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been received by the DWP Freedom of Information mailbox and will be
processed accordingly.
Please note that this mailbox is for Freedom of Information (FOI) or
Internal Review (IR) requests only – If you have submitted a non FOI or IR
related email then we may not be able to action it.
Timescales for responding
Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests
If your email is a valid FOI request, as per Section 8 of the FOI Act
2000, you can normally expect a response within 20 working days.
Internal Review (IR) Requests
You can normally expect a response within 20 working days.
We will respond to all valid FOI and IR requests within our statutory
timescales, if we are unable to do so then we will contact you to explain
why. Please note that we are not able to process your FOI or IR request in
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Receiving a response from us
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References
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Dear Mike Robinson,
I am writing in response to your request for information, received 19th
July.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
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