Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance she has issued for people who cannot (a) access a face to face assessment due to covid-19 restrictions and (b) conduct a phone consultation due to the nature of their disability.

The health and safety of our claimants and staff is our key priority. As a result, all face to face assessments for sickness and disability benefits have remained suspended since March 2020.

We are assessing as many people as we are able to on paper evidence or via telephone assessments. Individuals invited for a telephone assessment are encouraged to inform their assessment provider of any additional requirements they may have, and the provider will endeavour to meet any reasonable requests. This is explained to the individual in the initial invitation letter for all telephone assessments. For example, companions are able to join a telephone assessment, as they could for a face to face assessment.

There will be some claimants for whom unfortunately there is insufficient evidence to make a decision on paper and who are unable to undertake a telephone assessment because of their health condition. We continue to develop and implement ways in which we can safely assess these individuals. For example, we are currently testing ways of supporting claimants with speech and hearing difficulties to safely participate in telephone assessments and continue to test video assessments. Claimants who we are unable to assess by telephone or video because of their health condition, in particular those not entitled to UC, will be prioritised when we are able to safely resume face to face assessments.