Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2018 to Question 133509, on Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations, how many assessment reports the Department has deemed unacceptable and returned to (a) Independent Assessment Services and (b) Centre for Health and Disability Assessments for reworking in each of the last five years.

The volume of assessment reports returned to the supplier after being deemed unacceptable by the Department is covered under a contractual service level for both Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) and Independent Assessment Services’ (IAS) contracts.

The contract between DWP and CHDA started on 1 March 2015, therefore figures for CHDA is only held for the last 3 years. Each runs from March to February:

CHDA have built supplier capacity over the three years of the contract and therefore completed assessments have increased year on year. While the volume of cases returned for rework have subsequently increased year on year, the proportion of cases requiring rework have reduced.

For IAS figures are available from May 2013 and are summarised by fiscal year thereafter: