Completing the Health Questionnaire with a mental health condition

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) will usually send you a health questionnaire as part of the work capability assessment (WCA) process. The questionnaire can feel overwhelming. Remember, you can ask someone who knows you and your mental health condition to help you complete the form.

Here we explain what the questionnaire is, and how you can complete it with a mental health condition.

What is the health questionnaire?

The questionnaire is a form that asks you questions about your physical and mental health. It will ask you what tasks you can and cannot do. Unless you already have limited capability for work (LCW) or are treated as having LCW, the DWP will send you a health questionnaire.

What is the health questionnaire used for?

The health questionnaire is part of the WCA medical assessment process. It can help the DWP learn which group to put you in for Universal Credit (UC) or Employment & Support Allowance (ESA).

Which questionnaire will I have to complete?

If you are claiming:

• Universal Credit (UC)
  You will be sent the UC50 health questionnaire form
• Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
  You will be sent the ESA50 health questionnaire form

How do I complete the questionnaire?

Before you begin

1. Read the notes on each page carefully before answering the questions.

Take time to think about your answers and write them down on a separate piece of paper or in a notebook first.

2. If you need someone to help you, make sure they explain this on the form.

You must be clear as to whether you are completing the form, or if you are completing the form with help.

3. List every physical and mental health symptom you experience.

This will help if you need to appeal a decision in the future. Try to think how your conditions affect you and manifest themselves, this makes it easier to explain why you have difficulty or cannot complete tasks. You can ask a friend or mental health support worker to check your answers.

4. Write about your good and bad days.

Mental health goes up and down. Think about what you can do on a good day, and what you can do on a bad day. Make it clear how you are impacted for at least 50% of the time. If you talk about good days, make it clear that these do not happen all the time.

• Think about the tasks you can do on a good day, and whether you can still do them on a bad day. This should help you estimate how many times you can perform a certain activity and how many times you can’t.
• Think about the standard to which you can perform a certain activity, how long it takes you and whether you are safe.
• If you feel proud of being able to carry out an activity despite your condition, don’t talk about it for long. Make it clear that this does not happen all the time.

5. If you struggle with reading and writing, ask for help.

You can ask for help to complete your form if you struggle with your reading and writing. Talk to a Welfare and Benefits Adviser for more information on this. You can find free help via Citizens Advice.

6. Write your answers on a separate piece of paper before filling out the questionnaire

This will help you think about each question and correct any mistakes you might make the first time around. For example, you might forget to say your mental health makes it impossible for you to leave the house without support. Keeping a copy of your answers on a separate sheet will also help if you need to challenge a decision.

7. If someone has completed the form on your behalf, write their details at the end

It is okay for someone to complete the form for you. Just remember to include their details at the end when the form asks.

8. Compare your answers with our list below

The DWP score you points for every answer. You can work out how many points you are likely to score if you compare your answers to the ones we list below. Don’t make anything up if you are worried about your score but do remember to think about how your mental health affects the things you can and cannot do.

9. Make a copy of your completed questionnaire before you send it back

Having a copy of your final answers will help you challenge a decision if you disagree with the DWP in future. The following places often have photocopy facilities:

- Libraries
- Post offices
- Print or stationery stores

Type “local copy and printing services” into any internet search engine (Google, Bing etc.) and it should bring up all the places that provide photocopy facilities in your area. You can also ask someone who knows you well, to help.

Assessment list - also known as health descriptors

Here we explain each question that is relevant to your mental health. You will see how many points you may get depending on your answer. To work out how many points you might score, use this list to compare your answers to the health descriptors.

Activity 6: Making yourself understood

This activity is about communicating in a way that other people can understand. This is classed as a physical activity but if your mental health makes it harder for other people to understand you and you have someone you trust to help you communicate, this could be relevant.

If your communication problems are purely due to your mental health condition, then the DWP will suggest you score points under the mental health section instead.

Descriptors	Points
a. Cannot convey a simple message, such as the presence of a hazard.	15
b. Has significant difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers.	15
c. Has some difficulty conveying a simple message to strangers.	6
d. None of the above applies.	0

Activity 11: Learning tasks

This is about whether you can learn new tasks. If your mental health condition affects your ability to do some of the example tasks below, you should score points here.

Descriptors	Points
a. Cannot learn how to complete a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock.	15
b. Cannot learn anything beyond a simple task, such as setting an alarm clock.	9
c. Cannot learn anything beyond a moderately complex task, such as the steps involved in operating a washing machine to clean clothes.	6
d. None of the above applies.	0

Activity 12: Awareness of everyday hazards

Can you recognise everyday things that might be dangerous? For example:

• Boiling water
• Sharp objects

Does your mental health affect your concentration? Does any medication you take for your mental health affect your ability to identify hazards? For example:

• You aren’t aware of traffic on a busy road you want to cross
• You put a pot of stew on the hob, but forget about it so that it burns and risks burning down your kitchen

If you have a mental illness that affect your ability to focus and concentrate you should score points here. Example illnesses include:

• Depression
• Psychosis

Descriptors	Points
a. Reduced awareness of everyday hazards leads to a significant risk of: (i) injury to self or others; or (ii) damage to property or possessions, such that the claimant requires supervision for the majority of the time to maintain safety.	15
b. Reduced awareness of everyday hazards leads to a significant risk of: (i) injury to self or others; or (ii) damage to property or possessions, such that the claimant frequently requires supervision to maintain safety.	9
c. Reduced awareness of everyday hazards leads to a significant risk of: (i) injury to self or others; or (ii) damage to property or possessions, such that the claimant occasionally requires supervision to maintain safety.	6
d. None of the above applies.	0

Activity 13: Initiating and completing personal action

This activity is all about whether you can plan, organise, solve problems or switch tasks easily. Think about:

• Can you plan a simple meal?
• Can you wash and brush your teeth or do you need someone to help remind you?
• Can you manage your own bank account?
• Do you spend money without knowing how much money you have?
• Can you remember a doctor’s appointment?

If your mental health affects your ability to plan, organise, solve problems or switch tasks, then you should score points in this section.

Descriptors	Points
a. Cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least two sequential personal actions.	15
b. Cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least two sequential personal actions for the majority of the time.	9
c. Frequently cannot, due to impaired mental function, reliably initiate or complete at least two sequential personal actions.	6
d. None of the above applies.	0

Activity 14: Coping with change

Do you struggle to do different things? Do you find it easier to manage your day if you know exactly what you are doing and when? If your mental health condition makes it harder for you to accept changes to your daily routine, you should score points here.

Example mental health conditions that can affect your ability to accept changes to routine include:

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Severe Anxiety Disorders
• Psychosis

A developmental disability like autism can also affect your ability to accept changes to routine.

Descriptors	Points
a. Cannot cope with any change to the extent that day to day life cannot be managed.	15
b. Cannot cope with minor planned change (such as a pre-arranged change to the routine time scheduled for a lunch break), to the extent that, overall, day to day life is made significantly more difficult.	9
c. Cannot cope with minor unplanned change (such as the timing of an appointment on the day it is due to occur), to the extent that, overall, day to day life is made significantly more difficult.	6
d. None of the above applies.	0

Activity 15: Getting about

Do you need help to leave your home? Are you able to get to the shops or your doctor’s surgery on your own? Do you forget where places are, even if you know them or have been there many times?

If your mental health condition makes it hard for you to travel about or forget a place you’ve been to many times, you should score points here.

Descriptors	Points
a. Cannot get to any place outside the claimant’s home with which the claimant is familiar.	15
b. Is unable to get to a specified place with which the claimant is familiar, without being accompanied by another person.	9
c. Is unable to get to a specified place with which the claimant is unfamiliar without being accompanied by another person.	6
d. None of the above applies.	0

Activity 16: Coping with social engagement

Does your mental health make it hard for you to socialise and be around other people? This section tests your ability to function around other people in a working environment.

Example mental health conditions that can affect your ability to cope with social situations include:

• Depression
• Anxiety Disorders
• Personality Disorders

Descriptors	Points
a. Engagement in social contact is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant.	15
b. Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is always precluded due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant.	9
c. Engagement in social contact with someone unfamiliar to the claimant is not possible for the majority of the time due to difficulty relating to others or significant distress experienced by the claimant.	6
d. None of the above applies.	0

Activity 17: Appropriateness of behaviour with other people

This section asks whether you know how to behave in a socially acceptable manner in different situations. Think about the following:

• Does your mental health make it hard to know how to act around people you don’t know?
• Does your mental health make it hard to know what to say around people you don’t know?

Descriptors	Points
a. Has, on a daily basis, uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace.	15
b. Frequently has uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace.	15
c. Occasionally has uncontrollable episodes of aggressive or disinhibited behaviour that would be unreasonable in any workplace.	9
d. None of the above applies.	0

Think carefully when answering each question and ask for help if you need it

You usually have 4 weeks to complete and return the health questionnaire. Plan and ask someone who knows you and your mental health condition for help if you need to. Remember to:

• Read the guidance notes on the questionnaire carefully
• Think about your answers
• Use a separate sheet of paper to write your answers down first
• Ask someone who knows you and your mental health to check what you’ve written and help you complete the questionnaire if you need to
• Ask for help from a Welfare and Benefits Adviser experienced in:

1. Exploring mental health conditions and
2. Highlighting things about your condition that you are used to and don’t think about if you are struggling or worried about anything.