Work and Pensions secretary Peter Hain has announced a new medical test that will score a person’s capability to work.

The test, the Work Capability Assessment, will be introduced in October 2008 alongside the new Employment and Support Allowance and will be applicable for all those people claiming the new allowance. It will replace the current Personal Capability Assessment, which is weighted more towards a person's physical disability and bases itself around assessing people's incapability for work.

The Work Capability Assessment will look at people's physical and mental ability, such as learning disabilities and other similar conditions. It will assess what an individual can do - rather than what they can't do.

The measures are being introduced as part of the government's commitment to making sure that with the right support, everyone has the opportunity to go to work, even if they have a health condition or disability.

Hain says: "Currently, there are many people sitting at home in the belief that they are unemployable, with no life choices or long-term prospects because they do not think their illness or medical conditions can be catered for in the workplace. But this is just not the case - many people with such conditions are perfectly able to take up successful careers, if the right support is in place.”