A Tory-era consultation on reforms to a key disability test was unlawful, the High Court has ruled.
In a massive victory for campaigners, the court said the move was launched by the previous government “despite not having any evidence base to support the proposed changes”.
In the autumn of 2023 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced plans to change the way the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was scored. The test deems whether someone with a health condition or disability is fit to work.
One of the options being looked at in the consultation – spanning less than eight weeks – included removing or reducing scores for problems with mobility.
But Ellen Clifford, a disability rights campaigner who brought the legal action, argued the process did not provide people with sufficient information or time to respond to the proposals.
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She claimed the consultation by the then-Tory government did not properly explain that many people would receive significantly less money under the reforms.
In a judgment on Thursday, Mr Justice Calver said: “I consider that the claimant has surmounted the substantial hurdle of establishing that the consultation was so unfair as to be unlawful.”
In his ruling, he added: “The defendant [the DWP] was not candid that fiscal impact, rather than labour market impact, was the central basis on which decisions would be taken.”
In a statement after the ruling, Ms Clifford said: “I am overjoyed that the court has recognised the importance of properly consulting deaf and disabled people on reforms that would leave many worse off by at least £416.19 per month. This is a life-or-death issue.”
The High Court had been told that if the proposals become law, 424,000 people a year will receive lower rates of benefit, reducing disability benefit expenditure by £1.4 billion per year by 2028-29.
A Government spokesman said: “The judge has found the previous government failed to adequately explain their proposals.
“As part of wider reforms that help people into work and ensure fiscal sustainability, the Government will re-consult on the WCA descriptor changes, addressing the shortcomings in the previous consultation, in light of the judgment.
“The Government intends to deliver the full level of savings in the public finances forecasts.”