Oral Answers to Questions

Justin Madders Excerpts

Monday 21st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Newton]

The hon. Gentleman recounts the truly tragic case of his constituent, and of course he will be able to apply for attendance allowance, but that is not the only support available. Clearly he will need support from the NHS and adult social care, where a range of support is available, and attendance allowance can be used on Motability aids as well.

[Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

13. What mental health awareness training her Department provides for personal independence payment assessors.

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Sarah Newton)]

Assessment providers write and deliver training for health professionals; this includes how to identify the impact of mental health conditions on claimants. We require providers to have mental health function champions who are available to provide advice and support. They must have at least two years’ full post-registration clinical experience in the management of the relevant conditions.

[Justin Madders]

I suggest the Minister goes back and sees how that works in practice. A constituent came to see me recently about their personal independence payment assessment; they were asked during the course of the assessment why they thought their previous suicide attempts had not been successful. Does the Minister share my disgust at that cruel, inhumane and disgusting way of asking questions?