Isn't it all just a load of existential nihilism anyway? Having a little Snoop around. #WearAMask please & thanks. ❤️ = solidarity. 🏳️🌈 & Disability ally.
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ALT A DWP Freedom of Information request reply was received on 9 September 2026 (FOI2026/84560) showing that in England and Wales the following numbers of incapacity benefits claimants tried and failed to qualify for Daily Living (DL) PIP: ESA Support Group: 44,900 ESA WRAG: 6,290 LCW: 99,370 LCWRA: 319,360 This totals 469,920 who tried & failed to qualify for DL PIP at their most recent attempt This means 43% of LCW, LCWRA & ESA claimants without DL PIP tried & failed to qualify This is a 19% failure rate for all of those who attempted to qualify for DL PIP FOI Data includes completed mandatory reconsiderations & appeal outcomes Dual ESA/UC claimants are counted once under ESA "No Daily Living award” includes: claimants receiving Mobility only & claimants receiving neither component UC is based on Mar 2026 caseload ESA is based on Nov 2025 caseload
ALT https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml According to the DWP StatXplore Database, in March 2026 in England & Wales there were: 3,111,532 Total LCW, LCWRA & ESA claimants* 2,018,972 of which also receive Daily Living PIP* Meaning 1,092,560 LCW, LCWRA & ESA are without Daily Living PIP* *dual UC/ESA claimants are included in ESA counts only to remove duplication
ALT DWP StatXplore Database interrogation: ESA November 2025 UC March 2026 3,151,831 Total LCW, LCWRA & ESA 2,045,122 with DL PIP 1,106,709 without DL PIP 469,920 tried & failed to qualify for DL PIP (42.5% failure amongst those without DL PIP, 18.7% failure amongst all those who attempted to qualify for DL PIP) 2,515,042 total attempted to qualify for DL PIP https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml
![Of the remaining 1,084,282 (36%) who were not in receipt of DL PIP, a recent DWP FOI revealed that 584,000 of them had tried and failed to qualify for DL PIP by November 2024 [footnote 5].
This means that out of all the 'Health Element' cohort (LCW/LCWRA/ESA) who attempted to qualify for DL PIP (2,524,853) 23% failed (584,000).
However, we don't know the qualification failure rate for the other 500,282 'Health Element' claimants who have never attempted to qualify for DL PIP, so the true failure rate could be even higher than 23%.
Taken from: https://lurgeelife.wordpress.com/2025/08/17/the-5-remaining-pathways-to-work-proposals-the-2025-autumn-white-paper-whats-the-likely-impact/](/pic/orig/media%2FHTC7v9PWYAAm9Un.jpg)
ALT Of the remaining 1,084,282 (36%) who were not in receipt of DL PIP, a recent DWP FOI revealed that 584,000 of them had tried and failed to qualify for DL PIP by November 2024 [footnote 5]. This means that out of all the 'Health Element' cohort (LCW/LCWRA/ESA) who attempted to qualify for DL PIP (2,524,853) 23% failed (584,000). However, we don't know the qualification failure rate for the other 500,282 'Health Element' claimants who have never attempted to qualify for DL PIP, so the true failure rate could be even higher than 23%. Taken from: https://lurgeelife.wordpress.com/2025/08/17/the-5-remaining-pathways-to-work-proposals-the-2025-autumn-white-paper-whats-the-likely-impact/
![https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/55094/documents/305429/default/?utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv4
Work & Pensions Committee
17 Sept 2026
Dear Sir Stephen [Timms],
The draft [PIP] recommendations made no reference to the Work Capability Assessment. It is understood that the WCA could be replaced by the new PIP assessment. The Committee would like to know if this is the Review's position, & to be included in final recommendations, or if this is being considered separately? If so, what is the timescale for this, is the same Review team undertaking this, & is co-production being used here too?
Please confirm that Substantial Risk Regulations will continue with the changes to PIP & WCA. I know you appreciate that a large cohort of people on UC health fall under these criteria. Any changes to this protection put them at immediate risk of profound harm, including death.
I would be grateful for your response by 16 October 2026.
Debbie Abrahams (Chair, Work & Pensions Committee)](/pic/orig/media%2FHTCZtMJWgAAmxEl.jpg)
ALT https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/55094/documents/305429/default/?utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv4 Work & Pensions Committee 17 Sept 2026 Dear Sir Stephen [Timms], The draft [PIP] recommendations made no reference to the Work Capability Assessment. It is understood that the WCA could be replaced by the new PIP assessment. The Committee would like to know if this is the Review's position, & to be included in final recommendations, or if this is being considered separately? If so, what is the timescale for this, is the same Review team undertaking this, & is co-production being used here too? Please confirm that Substantial Risk Regulations will continue with the changes to PIP & WCA. I know you appreciate that a large cohort of people on UC health fall under these criteria. Any changes to this protection put them at immediate risk of profound harm, including death. I would be grateful for your response by 16 October 2026. Debbie Abrahams (Chair, Work & Pensions Committee)
ALT https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/164/work-and-pensions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/ UK Parliament Committees Work and Pensions Correspondence Work and Pensions Committee Correspondence with the Minister for Social Security and Disability, relating to the Timms Review Published 18 September 2026
ALT https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keep-britain-working-review-update-a-national-growth-opportunity-september-2026/keep-britain-working-a-national-growth-opportunity-september-2026 GOV UK Keep Britain Working: a national growth opportunity 23 Sept 2026 Around 300,000 people with a health condition leave work each year. Someone absent for 4-6 weeks has a 96% chance of returning. After a year, fewer than half do. Once a person is inactive for health reasons, the chance of them working again within a year is 3.8%, against 47% for someone unemployed Britain has never had a Workplace Health System No employer in Britain can compare its retention of people with health conditions against a competitor’s This is not a spending programme. The operational levers sit with employers & the returns land with employees, employers & the Exchequer With better intelligence, in the Workplace Health System, an employer could see the incidence of emerging mental health & MSK challenges
ALT Chart from the DWP showing the number of benefit capped households in Great Britain over time. It shows that 164,000 families receiving Universal Credit were affected by the benefit cap in May 2026, up from 115,000 families in February 2026. (These figures are slightly different from those quoted in this post because we have added the separate benefit cap statistics for Northern Ireland into the DWP’s statistics for Great Britain.
ALT Chart from the DWP showing the number of benefit capped households in Great Britain over time. It shows that 164,000 families receiving Universal Credit were affected by the benefit cap in May 2026, up from 115,000 families in February 2026. (These figures are slightly different from those quoted in this post because we have added the separate benefit cap statistics for Northern Ireland into the DWP’s statistics for Great Britain.
ALT https://www.eerstekamer.nl/wetsvoorstel/36582_participatiewet_in_balans#p2 Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal Participation Act in balance This bill amends the Participation Act...to improve the balance between subsistence security, reintegration, & enforcement Due to complexity, strict enforcement, & limited support, the Participation Act is sometimes perceived as too harsh. To address this, this proposal introduces a package of over 20 measures that give implementation professionals more scope to provide people with proper support. Primarily to help them find work, and if that is not (yet) possible, to ensure an adequate income & other forms of participation. Trust & the human dimension will take center stage in the implementation.
ALT https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=22284&langId=en European Commission Dutch Participation Act not (yet) a success Jan 2020 ...the Participation Act is underpinned by...assumptions made by policymakers, which in practice have turned out to be incorrect Assumption: People targeted would be able & willing to perform paid work Evaluation: > half of targeted population think this may well be the case in the future, but not at the moment. Most experience impediments due to health problems. Municipalities confirm this. Assumption: instruments of the Act would function as an incentive & help to match supply & demand Evaluation: > half of employers are unaware of important instruments of the Act...& financial arrangements give municipalities an incentive to use the instruments for people with the highest chance of finding a job...members of target group with lower chances of finding work are not sufficiently benefiting
ALT https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2025/51/unemployment-up-in-november-particularly-among-young-people Statistics Netherlands Unemployment up in November, particularly among young people 18/12/2025 Unemployment among young people rose to 9.1 percent https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2025/08/no-further-increase-in-young-people-in-paid-work Statistics Netherlands No further increase in young people in paid work 21/02/2025 Increase in unemployment among young people not in education This increase consisted mainly of young people who were not actively seeking work due to illness.
![26 Feb 2026
There is limited evidence that these changes have improved employment outcomes for disabled people. In the Netherlands, labour participation...increased by 1.2% points
Instead, policies may increase the no. of disabled people who are not employed & no longer qualify for disability-specific social protection...Australia & Denmark comparisons found that tightening reforms leave disabled people at risk...not able to demonstrate adequate incapacity to work to qualify for benefits but lacking capacity, resources & support to work
In Denmark, reforms...were followed by [an] increase in labour market participation from 78.1% to 81% [2.9%]
The number of employed people in Australia increased by 1.5% points...although authors did not draw a direct link between the reforms & this increase
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-comparisons-of-disability-benefits-and-disability-employment/international-comparisons-of-disability-benefits-and-disability-employment](/pic/orig/media%2FHQIy6kOWEAABU7l.jpg)
ALT 26 Feb 2026 There is limited evidence that these changes have improved employment outcomes for disabled people. In the Netherlands, labour participation...increased by 1.2% points Instead, policies may increase the no. of disabled people who are not employed & no longer qualify for disability-specific social protection...Australia & Denmark comparisons found that tightening reforms leave disabled people at risk...not able to demonstrate adequate incapacity to work to qualify for benefits but lacking capacity, resources & support to work In Denmark, reforms...were followed by [an] increase in labour market participation from 78.1% to 81% [2.9%] The number of employed people in Australia increased by 1.5% points...although authors did not draw a direct link between the reforms & this increase https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-comparisons-of-disability-benefits-and-disability-employment/international-comparisons-of-disability-benefits-and-disability-employment