Figures released by DWP disability minister Stephen Timms show that claimants who have a face-to-face work capability assessment (WCA) are least likely to be considered to have limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) by the assessor.
The figures for 2024 demonstrate that telephone WCAs are still by far the most common, something that has been the case ever since the covid pandemic.
- 495,500 (69%) of WCAs are telephone.
- 89,900 (13%) of WCAs are paper.
- 73,600 (10%) of WCAs are face-to-face.
- 56,400 (8%) of WCAs are video.
It is notable that video assessments are now almost as numerous as face-to-face assessments and may well overtake them before long.
In terms of outcomes, paper-based assessments have by far the highest proportion of LCWRA recommendations at 99%. However, only those most clearly and severely impacted by their condition will have paper-based assessment.
At the other end of the scale, face-to-face assessments end in just over half, 53% of claimants being assessed as having LCWRA. This compares to 63% for video assessments and 61% for telephone assessments.
| Type | LCWRA | LCW | FFW |
| Telephone | 61% | 21% | 18% |
| Paper | 99% | 1% | 0% |
| Face-to-face | 53% | 21% | 25% |
| Video | 63% | 18% | 20% |
It may not be the case that face-to-face assessments are harsher in themselves. Instead, it may be that the types of condition that the DWP select for a face-to-face assessment are the less severe ones.
And it should also be noted that it is a decision maker, rather than the assessor who makes the final decision on what group a claimant is put in. Though in the vast majority of cases the decision maker accepts the assessor’s recommendation.
Nonetheless, the statistics are worth bearing in mind if you are considering asking the DWP to change your assessment type as a reasonable adjustment.
