Title
Contents
Acknowledgements 6
The Authors 7
Abbreviations 8
Summary 9
1. Introduction 14
1.1 Policy context 14
1.2 Routes onto Incapacity Benefit 15
1.3 Aims of the research 16
1.4 Research methods 16
1.5 Changes in personal circumstances 17
1.6 Structure of the report 19
2. Health and disability 20
2.1 Summary 20
2.2 Health conditions 21
2.3 Health trajectory 24
2.4 Waiting list for health treatment 28
2.5 Receiving health treatment 31
3. Benefit status 34
3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 Summary 34
3.3 Benefit status at baseline 34
3.4 Changes in Incapacity Benefit status 36
3.5 Why people had stopped claiming Incapacity Benefit 37
3.6 Expectations about likely claim duration 38
3.7 Other social security benefits 40
4. Work status 42
4.1 Introduction 42
4.2 Summary 42
4.3 Employment status 43
4.4 Going back to work 45
4.5 Job search 46
4.6 Expectations about work 47
4.7 Barriers to work 48
4.8 Importance of work 51
4.9 Work status trajectories 54
5. Conclusions 58
Appendix: Logistic regressions of the determinants of being in paid work and of reporting being permanently off work due to sickness or disability 61
References 63
Table 1.1 Changes in personal circumstances 18
Table 2.1 Did respondents still have a health condition or disability at follow-up? 22
Table 2.2 Whether respondents still had a health condition at follow-up, by whether they were in work in the previous week 22
Table 2.3 Main health condition and disability 23
Table 2.4 Whether respondents' health had changed since baseline 24
Table 2.5 Whether respondents' health had changed since baseline 25
Table 2.6 Whether respondents' health had changed since baseline, by whether they were in work in the previous week 25
Table 2.7 Whether health would be better or worse in six months' time 26
Table 2.8 Whether health would be better or worse in six months' time, by ethnic group 27
Table 2.9 Whether health would be better or worse in six months' time, by age group 27
Table 2.10 Whether health would be better or worse in six months' time, by whether they were in work in the previous week 28
Table 2.11 Whether respondents were on a waiting list for medical treatment 29
Table 2.12 Whether respondents who were waiting for medical treatment at the baseline survey were waiting for treatment at the follow-up survey 29
Table 2.13 Whether respondents were on a waiting list for medical treatment or psychological services, by age group 30
Table 2.14 Whether respondents were on a waiting list for medical treatment or psychological services, by whether they were in work in the week prior to the baseline or follow-up survey 31
Table 2.15 Whether respondents were receiving medical treatment or psychological services 32
Table 2.16 Proportion of respondents who were currently receiving medical treatment or psychological services, by age group 32
Table 3.1 Whether recent claimants were receiving IB at the time of the baseline survey interview, by age group 35
Table 3.2 Whether respondents had received IS or JSA in the two years before their recent IB claim 36
Table 3.3 Whether recent claimants were receiving IB 36
Table 3.4 Respondent's IB status at follow-up, by age group 37
Table 3.5 Main reason why respondents had stopped claiming IB 38
Table 3.6 How long people expected to remain on IB 39
Table 3.7 How long people expected to remain on IB when they made their recent claim, by how long they expected, at follow-up, to remain on IB 40
Table 3.8 Reported receipt of other social security benefits at follow-up 41
Table 4.1 Employment status 44
Table 4.2 Participation in job search activities 47
Table 4.3 What respondents were most likely to be doing in six months' time 48
Table 4.4 Barriers to work 50
Table 4.5 Barriers to work among respondents who answered the barriers question at both baseline and follow-up 51
Table 4.6 Attitudes to paid work 53
Table 4.7 Work status trajectories 55
Table 4.8 Work status at follow-up by route onto IB 56
Table 4.9 Work status by number of health conditions 57