The severe conditions criteria (SCC) policy was introduced several years ago to help ensure that the most severely disabled people did not have to be reassessed for claiming for out-of-work benefits.
The rationale for the policy is that there is no value in repeatedly assessing claimants where the nature of their condition means they are very unlikely to be able to carry out work.
The SCC may apply in claims for employment and support allowance (ESA), and for universal credit where the claimant has limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA).
When the policy was introduced, it was suggested that certain, specific, “lifelong” conditions were always likely to be determined as being “severe”.
These included motor neurone disease, severe and progressive forms of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, dementias, chromosomal conditions, severe irreversible cardiorespiratory diseases and Huntington’s disease.
How to qualify
At present, guidance only covers how claimants should be assessed for SCC. However, in April, the SCC will be defined in law through changes introduced by the Universal Credit Act 2025.
The regulations in the act define an SCC claimant as:
- Someone who has been assessed as having LCWRA if at least one of the LCWRA descriptors constantly applies to them because of a specific bodily disease or disablement, or a specific mental illness
- They will have the disablement/illness for the rest of their life
- This has been diagnosed by an appropriately qualified health care professional.
Two of the descriptors for mental, cognitive and intellectual function are particularly relevant to readers (there are also other mental descriptors, as well as physical descriptors):
- Learning tasks: a claimant cannot learn how to complete a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock, owing to cognitive impairment or mental disorder
- Initiating and completing personal action: a claimant cannot, because of impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least two sequential personal actions.
Of course, what is likely to be crucial in assessing SCC status is the inclusion of the word “constantly”.
This means that a descriptor must apply to the claimant at all times or every time they undertake or attempt the activity.
In practical terms, the difference that SCC status will make for some is that they will not have to have their LCWRA status reassessed in ESA or universal credit claims, so are effectively left alone once the benefit is assessed and awarded.
It is yet to be seen whether claimants with a learning disability meet the strict severe condition criteria and therefore get the increase in benefits
The new act also confirms that a higher rate of the LCWRA component (the top-up that can be awarded with the basic rate of ESA or as an additional element in universal credit awards) will be paid to SCC claimants. This will be £423.27 per month.
This will be an exception for SCC claimants, along with people with existing claims made before April, and for people who meet the terminal illness criteria. Their benefit rates will increase at minimum in line with inflation.
Limited work rate cut
However, the changes brought in by the act also mean that, from April, any new claimant with a disability who meets the LCWRA criteria but who is not in one of the groups mentioned above will get a lower rate of the LCWRA element. This will be reduced by almost half of its current worth to £217.26 per month. This will be frozen until 2029-30.
It is yet to be seen whether claimants with a learning disability can meet the strict rules to achieve SCC status and therefore get the increased benefits this can bring.
Either way, the significant cut to the LCWRA component for new claimants overshadows the improvements being introduced for the likely relatively small number of SCC claimants.
