More than half of islanders currently claiming Long Term Incapacity Allowance are assessed as having 40% or less of their working ability affected by illness or disability, new figures show.
The response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Law shows that out of 4,434 current Long Term Incapacity Allowance claims, fewer than 6% are awarded at the full rate of 100%.
Long Term Incapacity Allowance is paid to people whose ability to work is reduced because of a long-term health condition or disability, with the level of payment linked directly to the percentage assessment.
Claims are worked out as a percentage of the maximum Long Term Incapacity Allowance rate of £295.75 per week. The percentage is equal to the amount of benefit awarded.
Currently, the largest single group of claimants is those assessed at 20% incapacity, with 485 people in that category.
Significant numbers are also clustered at relatively low award levels, including 396 people at 30%, 353 at 25% and 330 at 40%.
By contrast, higher levels of incapacity are far less common. Only 219 claimants are assessed at 70%, 208 at 80% and just 86 at 90%.
At the very top end, 29 people are assessed at 95%, while 259 currently receive the full 100% award.
A “complete overhaul” of the benefits available to those with long-term health conditions is due within the next two years after a Social Security Medical Appeal Tribunal case raised questions over whether the current guidelines – which haven’t been updated in a decade – do enough to help islanders who suffer from chronic illnesses such as long covid and chronic fatigue.
Social Security Minister Lyndsay Feltham is planning to bring regulations to the States Assembly which would be “the first stage in a complete overhaul of the benefits that support those with a long-term health condition”.
This initial stage is due to be followed by “detailed work” on the guidelines in 2026 with the goal of having the new system in place in 2027.