Written question asked by Howard Stoate (Labour) on Monday, 23 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 25 November 2009. It was answered by Jonathan Shaw (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Employment and Support Allowance: Dartford

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Dartford who have submitted claims for employment and support allowance since its introduction have (a) not met the work capability assessment qualification criteria, (b) met the work capability assessment criteria for the work-related activity group and (c) met the work capability assessment qualification criteria for the support group.

Answer: Data on outcomes from the medical assessment process for Employment and Support Allowance claims are held at regional level and figures for the South East region are provided. For people in the South East who started an employment and support allowance claim since its introduction in October 2008 up to February 2009 and who completed the assessment process the figures are:"Number of people found fit for work: 5,400""Number of people in the work related activity group: 2,700""Number of people in the support group: 1,100"These figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and are consistent with the national figures published in October 2009.These data should be considered as provisional since they are based on recorded advice from ATOS Healthcare, rather than the decision maker's final determination. The final outcomes of cases may change. This will be further compounded by reconsiderations following additional medical evidence and the outcomes of appeals. Full guidance on the national figures is included in the published statistics.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 501 c618-9W; 301772
Session: 2009-10
Subjects: Dartford Employment and support allowance Work capability assessment
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk