December 2017
What: The mental health charity Rethink publishes a report that includes the results of interviews and a survey with people with personal experience of the WCA and of mental distress. The findings show that WCAs can be “traumatising and anxiety-inducing”, and the report concludes that the current PIP and ESA assessment procedures “inherently discriminate against people with mental illnesses”. They recommend that “where clear medical evidence exists that they have severe forms of mental illness”, claimants should be exempt from face-to-face assessments, and that all assessors and DWP decision-makers should be appropriately trained in mental health.
Why significant: Shows further evidence of the harm of assessment procedures for those with mental health issues.