Oral Answers to Questions

Christina Rees Excerpts

Monday 9th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb]

I have to say to the hon. Lady and to Members across the Opposition Benches that there is a question here of responsible opposition. If they do not have a plan that is clear and fully costed—the Labour party’s policies were not—they are simply playing those women along, pretending that they are in a position to unwind the changes while sitting there knowing full well that they have no serious proposal for doing so.

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that staff carrying out personal independence payment assessments act in a professional manner.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People (Justin Tomlinson)]

The Department has set clear requirements regarding the professions, skills, experience and training of the health professionals that providers can use to carry out PIP assessments. We expect the highest standards from the contractors who carry out assessments on our behalf, and measure their performance against several targets, including quality and customer experience.

[Christina Rees]

My constituents have reported huge inaccuracies between the information that they provide against PIP descriptors and the conclusions drawn by Capita’s staff, which causes great stress for people already in difficult circumstances. What is the Department doing to ensure that Capita’s staff are trained to take the appropriate time and care over assessments, so that they are as accurate and as fair as possible?