Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will change the rules for the audio recording of medical assessments for employment and support allowance, personal independence payments, and universal credit to allow claimants to record assessments on digital devices.

Parliamentary questions have been previously asked on this topic including PQ 117493 and PQ 115569. Provided they give advance notice, claimants of Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit can ask for their medical assessment to be recorded and the equipment will be supplied by the provider. Claimants may also use their own equipment to audio record their face-to-face consultation provided they meet certain conditions required by DWP. To protect the individual and the healthcare professional, two copies of the recording must be created, one for the individual and one for the provider. As a complete and accurate copy of the audio recording must be provided at the end of the consultation, at the moment the only acceptable formats for recording assessments are CD and audio cassette. However we are considering how we might make the recording of assessments more easily available.