Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is providing for claimants of (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment support allowance and (c) disablement pension where the health assessors find that a face-to-face interview is required but cannot be completed under covid-19 restrictions.

The 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. Throughout the pandemic, for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)/Universal Credit (UC) we have continued to assess people on paper evidence where we can as normal. We have also introduced telephone assessments and are working to increase the number of these assessments in order that we can make the right decision for as many people as possible, while keeping people safe.

Where it is not possible to carry out a PIP telephone assessment we are making a decision based on all the evidence available to ensure any payment is not delayed. For ESA/UC, claimants will remain on their current award until we are able to gather the evidence needed for a recommendation to be made (or until contributory ESA ends)); any additional amounts the claimant may qualify for after their assessment will be backdated to ensure no long-term loss. Where an individual’s contributory ESA ends they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances if they require further financial support.

The question refers to ‘disablement pension’; we have understood that to refer to the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Following a successful trial, we have now begun paper based assessments in IIDB for certain prescribed diseases. To protect our most vulnerable claimants with the most serious health conditions we are continuing to process IIDB claims for people with terminal illnesses, and those for Fast Track prescribed diseases as they can be assessed without the need for a face to face assessment. Once face-to-face assessments resume, awards will be backdated to the date of application to ensure claimants do not lose out on funds they are entitled to.