Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of assessment centres have no (a) disabled parking and (b) disabled access.

The contracts awarded by DWP to carry out health assessments state that all sites must be compliant with the Equality Act 2010. Assessment providers are required to consider the needs of claimants such as proximity to public transport routes and access to suitable parking e.g. Blue badge parking (there is no requirement in the specification to provide on-site parking). Additionally, the Department for Transport (DfT) has been consulting on proposals to extend Blue Badge eligibility to include people with hidden disabilities who encounter similar levels of difficulty to those with physical disability when making their journeys. It has also recently undertaken a consultation on its draft Accessibility Action Plan (AAP), which sought views on the range of barriers potentially impacting on the ability of people with disabilities to travel confidently on the transport system. DfT are currently considering the responses to its consultation on the AAP and will publish its response to the consultation later this year.

If a claimant believes they will have any difficulties attending their appointment they should discuss this with the assessment provider as soon as possible using the contact details on the appointment letter.