Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear of the circumstances of the hon. Lady’s constituent. Enormous numbers of decisions are made on ESA, PIP and on all sorts of other benefits. In some cases, the wrong decision is taken and it is overturned on appeal. We need to concentrate on ensuring that we arrive at the right decision in the first place. That has been our focus over the last few weeks, and we are doing a lot of work to ensure that medical and other evidence is submitted earlier in the process so that such circumstances do not arise. I would be very happy to look at the situation of the hon. Lady’s constituent.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

8. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that personal independence payment assessments are undertaken fairly and appropriately.

[John Nicolson (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

10. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that personal independence payment assessments are undertaken fairly and appropriately.

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Penny Mordaunt)]

Our policy is developed by utilising service user panels. Provision is strictly monitored and measured by independent audit, and the provider is held to account through the contract that we have with them.

[Martyn Day]

For the fourth year in a row, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority has said that the roll-out of the personal independence payment project is

“in doubt with major risks…apparent in a number of key areas.”

What action is the Minister taking to address the urgent problems with the PIP assessment, which is causing further hardship to disabled people trying to access vital support?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I start by pointing out that PIP is a vast improvement on what went before. It is a more targeted benefit and it takes into account a whole raft of other conditions, such as mental health and sensory conditions, not just physical disability. It is a vast step forward in that respect. We cannot rest on our laurels, however. We must continually improve, and there is a robust improvement process, based on user and claimant feedback, which looks at the assessment and also at record keeping and a raft of other areas.