The most recent statistics for ESA show that the overwhelming majority of new claimants are placed in the support group.
In the quarter to September 2020, 84% of new claimants were placed in the support group, 12% were found fit for work and 4% were placed in the work-related activity group.
However, there has been a massive drop in the number of completed work capability assessments, partly due to the pandemic and partly due to the switch to universal credit.
In the quarter to September there were 37,000 WCAs, compared to 170,000 for the same period last year.
Repeat assessments were down from 140,000 to 25,000 with new claims down from 30,000 to 12,000.
The number of registered mandatory reconsiderations is now tiny. However there was a slight increase in the latest three months from 170 in October 2020 to 290 in January 2021.
