Well enough to work?

Little is known about the characteristics of people leaving Incapacity Benefit and entering Jobseeker’s Allowance, or of those leaving Jobseeker’s Allowance and remaining economically inactive because of their health condition, and who are here assumed to have moved onto Incapacity Benefit or Income Support. In order to explore the characteristics of these groups more thoroughly the Department of Social Security has commissioned secondary analysis of two datasets: the Leaving Incapacity Benefit survey and the Jobseeker’s Allowance evaluation surveys. Although neither of these datasets was designed specifically to explore the issues at hand, each offers useful common material, as well as unique insights into the circumstances and fortunes of the target groups. The Leaving Incapacity Benefit survey allows an exploration of people’s circumstances at three points in time: 1 after leaving Incapacity Benefit; 2 at the survey interview (five to 10 months later); 3 at the postal follow-up (12 to 18 months after leaving Incapacity Benefit).