PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Employment and Support Allowance (26 September 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of employment and support allowance referred to the Work Programme since June 2011 have had (a) a mental and behavioural disorder and (b) a disease of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue as their primary impairment; and how many such people have achieved in each category a sustained job outcome.

Asked by:
Sir Stephen Timms (Labour)

The information requested is given in the table below.

Number of Work Programme Referrals and Sustained Job Outcomes for claimants in the requested main diagnosis groups for those in the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Payment Groups: 1 June 2011 – 30 June 2014

	Referrals	Sustained Job Outcomes
ESA customer groups total	276,670	16,530
Mental and Behavioural Disorders	147,790	7,550
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal system and Connective Tissue	39,130	2,150
Other/Missing	89,750	6,820

Source: DWP Statistical Services

Notes:

1. Figures are cumulative and are rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

2. Referrals: Referrals shown are 'net' referrals which do not include rejections, cancellations or referrals to ESA information sessions.
3. Sustained Job Outcomes: These are the number of claimants who have received a Job Outcome payment and have had at least 1 Sustainment payment.
4. Sustainment payments: Providers can only claim a Sustainment payment where:
1. A Job Outcome has been reported;
2. Four continuous weeks in employment have elapsed between the Job Outcome payment date and the Sustainment payment date, or between the previous Sustainment payment date and the current Sustainment payment date.
3. A participant has been in employment and off benefit each week (a week is defined as a 7 day period) in the four week period; and
4. 15 working days have passed since the last date of the period being claimed.
5. Following a break in employment after the 104 weeks Allotted Time providers will no longer be eligible to receive a Sustainment payment (a break is defined as when a participant leaves employment for 2 days or more, even if they remain off benefit).

5. ICD (disease) code causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. Medical condition is based on evidence provided at the start of the claim, this in itself does not confer entitlement to ESA and may not represent a claimants most recent medical condition.

Answered by:
Esther McVey (Conservative)
15 October 2014