Health and disablement among social security recipients in the UK: the role of digital communication and capacity in assessments and entitlements

Large numbers of UK citizens with health issues or disabilities currently receive financial support from the social security system by reason of having either a limited capability for work due to a physical or mental problem or a disability that significantly limits their mobility or capacity for self-care. In the UK, where a transformation to ‘digital by default’ has been a core services policy over the past decade, digital technology plays a hugely important role in the delivery of these and other social security benefits. It features prominently in the ways in which benefit claimants are expected to inter-act with the administrative authorities, including when they need to notify the authorities of any change in their condition which could be material to their benefit award. Covering both legal and administrative dimensions, this article critically analyses the role and impact of digital technology and digital capacity in the processes for claiming the health-related and disability-related social security benefits, in the assessments of entitlement, and in the notification of changes in circumstances relevant to entitlement.