LCWRA element – severe conditions criteria

Introduction

In April 2026, the limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) element of universal credit (UC) started being paid at two separate rates. The standard rate is now £217.26 per month, approximately half of its previous value. The higher rate of £429.80 a month is only payable to three groups of  protected claimants.

The three groups are: (1) those defined as ‘pre-2026 claimants’ (see ‘LCWRA element – “pre-2026 claimant” explained’, Bulletin 311); (2) those who count as terminally ill for UC, which means that they have a progressive disease and their death can be reasonably expected within 12 months; and (3) those who meet the severe conditions criteria (SCC).

What are the severe conditions criteria?

The criteria are set out in regulation 40A(2)–(4) of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 and can be summarised as follows:

1. claimant meets one of the LCWRA descriptors (regulation 40A(2)(a));
2. claimant meets that LCWRA descriptor ‘constantly’ (regulation 40A(2)(b) and (4));
3. claimant will have their condition, and will meet the relevant LCWRA descriptor, for the rest of their life (regulation 40A(2)(b), (3)(a)(i) and (3)(b)(i)); and
4. claimant has an NHS diagnosis for their condition (regulation 40A(3)). 

Notably, however, the severe conditions criteria appear in a different form in most of the DWP’s guidance to its staff and assessment providers.1  

1. 'The person has limited capability for work and work-related activity due to a functional impairment.
2. The person’s condition will last for the rest of their life.
3. There is no realistic prospect of recovery of function.
4. The person’s condition is unambiguous.'

Why are there two different versions?

The severe conditions criteria have existed since 2017 as a tool for assessors to decide whether claimants should have their work capability status fixed indefinitely or should have a work capability reassessment in future.2 In April 2026, the criteria took on a new role in relation to LCWRA rates, and this required that they were set out in legislation for the first time. The criteria laid down in legislation differed from the previous versions, with a stricter requirement for ‘constant’ needs and a requirement for an NHS diagnosis. It was expected that these changes would be reflected in updated DWP guidance. However, this is not what has happened to date. Although the DWP’s Advice for Decision Making reflects the new legislative rules to the letter, its other guidance does not.3

The rest of this article is structured around the four criteria as they are set out in law,  noting where the DWP’s requirements may differ in practice.

1. Meets one of the LCWRA descriptors

To satisfy the first of the severe conditions criteria, a claimant must meet one of the 16 LCWRA descriptors set out in Schedule 7 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013. This requirement appears in regulation 40A(2)(a) and is repeated throughout the DWP’s guidance, suggesting that the DWP is unlikely to make exceptions.

It is not enough if a claimant is ‘treated as’ LCWRA on other grounds.4 In cases where this applies, the DWP should give claimants the opportunity for a full assessment to see whether they can also satisfy a descriptor.5

This rule creates a clear disadvantage for claimants who rely on the ‘treated as’ rules for their LCWRA status – for example, because work-related activity poses a substantial risk to their health, or because they are having  cancer treatment.6

2. Meets an LCWRA descriptor ‘constantly’

Regulation 40A(2)(b) provides that someone will only meet the severe conditions criteria if ‘at least one of the descriptors set out in Schedule 7 constantly applies to the claimant’ (emphasis added). 

Regulation 40A(4) expands on this requirement, stating that ‘a descriptor constantly applies to a claimant if that descriptor applies to the claimant at all times or, as the case may be, on all occasions on which the claimant undertakes or attempts to undertake the activity described by that descriptor’ (emphasis added).

This seems a clear departure from the general rule for work capability assessments in regulation 40(4): ‘a descriptor applies to a claimant if that descriptor applies to the claimant for the majority of the time or, as the case may be, on the majority of the occasions on which the claimant undertakes or attempts to undertake the activity described by that  descriptor’ (emphasis added).

The contrast between the wording of regulations 40(4) and 40A(4) suggests that this departure was deliberate. However, even before the rules became law, senior DWP ministers appeared keen to play it down. On 22 July 2025, in a Lords debate on the proposed changes, Baroness Sherlock said:7

‘The assessment includes provisions to ensure consideration of how someone’s condition might fluctuate, hence the use of the terms “reliably” and “repeatedly” in some of the descriptors. This Bill does not change that. The idea that we have somehow changed that through using the word “constantly” is not the case.’ 

The ‘constantly’ requirement does not feature in DWP’s UC staff guidance, which states that the test is instead that ‘the claimant’s level of function due to their severe condition will always meet LCWRA at repeated/future assessment, not that the claimant’s symptoms must be constant.’8

Even assuming that claimants will not have to demonstrate ‘constant’ needs, the third criterion below might prove a problem for those with fluctuating conditions.

3. Will have their condition, and meet an LCWRA descriptor, for the rest of their life

Here, the DWP’s guidance echoes the legislation. Regulation 40(3) of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 confirms that, to meet the severe conditions criteria, the claimant’s physical or mental condition must be lifelong. Regulation 40A(2)(b) further requires that an LCWRA descriptor must apply for the rest of the claimant’s life. These points are paraphrased throughout the guidance.

While the ‘lifelong’ requirement may be simple on paper, it is not clear how claimants will evidence these points in practice. With some conditions, functional limitations will fluctuate over time. With others, there may be a usual pattern or deterioration or recovery, but no degree of certainty. Medical professionals may be reluctant to speculate about the future, making it harder for UC claimants to provide supporting evidence.

In the September 2024 edition of the DWP’s Work Capability Assessment Handbook for Assessors (no longer current), the following were listed as examples of cases where this criterion may not be met.9

• ‘Conditions which might be cured by transplant/surgery/treatments or conditions which might resolve. This should be based on currently available treatment on the NHS and not on the prospect of scientists discovering a cure in the future.’
• ‘A person within the first 12 months following a significant stroke who may recover function during rehabilitation, so whilst the condition is lifelong, function might improve.’
• ‘Conditions which might be severe at times, but recovery of function might be present for substantial periods, such as recently diagnosed relapsing non-progressive forms of multiple sclerosis or some people with less severe mental health conditions with periods of reasonable function.’ 

4. Has a formal diagnosis 

In most of the DWP’s guidance, the fourth of the severe conditions criteria is expressed as follows: 

‘The person’s condition is unambiguous. There has been a thorough clinical investigation and confirmation of a formal clinical diagnosis by an appropriately qualified and regulated NHS healthcare professional (or a qualified and regulated healthcare professional from outside the NHS, as long as there is documented evidence within the NHS record and it aligns with NHS best practice).’ (emphasis added) 

This might seem to be a departure from the legislation – at regulation 40A(3) – which requires that the claimant’s condition ‘has been diagnosed by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional in the course of the provision of NHS services’. 

The more generous interpretation in the guidance was again foreshadowed in parliament. Baroness Sherlock said the following in a debate on 22 July 2025, before the changes became law:7 

‘NHS diagnosis came up [in the Lords debate] a couple of times, so I would like to take the opportunity to clarify this. To meet the severe conditions criteria, the condition needs to be recorded somewhere in the NHS, following a proper clinical investigation and a formal medical diagnosis in line with NHS best practice. That does not mean the initial diagnosis has to be done by the NHS, but it has to be recorded somewhere in the NHS system. For a person who has a severe, lifelong health condition, their diagnosis will be in their GP record, even if it was made privately.’ 

Given that this approach is reflected in the DWP’s operational guidance, claimants can have some level of confidence that it will be followed. This will be useful for those with private or overseas diagnoses. However, there is still a requirement for a formal diagnosis, which could possibly act as a barrier for some claimants.10

The WCA50 form 

As of 5 May 2026, the WCA50 form used in the work capability assessment includes a brief information box about the severe conditions criteria (SCC). This features on current p22, after the claimant signature page, under ‘About medical or other information you may already have’. The box reads: 

‘If you have a severe health condition that stops you from working, you may meet the severe conditions criteria. To qualify, your health condition needs to last for the rest of your life, you are not expected to get better, and you must have been diagnosed by a healthcare professional. If you think you meet the severe conditions criteria, please send any supporting medical evidence you already have with this questionnaire.’ 

The form does not include any other information about the significance of the criteria, or any other questions, prompts or boxes dedicated to them.

Claimants getting cancer treatment 

The lack of detail in the WCA50 form about the severe conditions criteria may cause specific issues for claimants ‘treated as’ having LCWRA. A claimant receiving chemo- or radiotherapy may now need to complete the full WCA50 form, including the questions about separate activities, rather than simply filling out the cancer treatment section, if they want to be considered for the higher rate of the LCWRA element. However, there is currently nothing in the form that makes this clear. 

In a note for stakeholders in June 2026, the DWP said:11

‘We recognise that the streamlined application process for some cancer patients may impact healthcare professionals’ pro vision of [severe conditions criteria] advice to [decision makers] and we are considering what changes are required. In advance of a permanent solution being in place, we have issued supplementary guidance to [assessment providers] to mitigate this and to ensure that the severe conditions criteria are considered as appropriate under the current process.’ 

Mixed-age couples 

Relatedly, some pension-age UC claimants who are otherwise ‘treated as’ LCWRA may now need to go through a full work capability assessment in order to access the higher rate of the LCWRA element. On this point, the DWP confirmed in August:12

‘DWP has amended procedures to ensure that when a claimant over state pension age is treated as LCWRA and receives a letter to this regard, the letter will explain they haven’t been considered for SCC. The letter explains what SCC is and invites them to have a work capability assessment (WCA) if they feel they meet the SCC criteria. DWP will revisit any impacted cases from 6 April 2026 to when this new process came into effect, to ensure these claimants are provided with the same information. Once a claimant comes forward they will be referred for an assessment and SCC considered as it is in any other WCA.’