Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the assessment process for Personal Independent Payment on the mental health of those assessed; and if she will reform that process.

DWP and our assessment providers are committed to providing a quality, sensitive and respectful service, with an approach aimed at continual improvement.

We recognise that attending a consultation can be a stressful experience for some people, which is why where there is sufficient available evidence, Personal Independence Payment assessments are carried out via a paper-based review. Where an assessment is required, claimants are encouraged to include another person where they would find this helpful, for example, by reassuring them or helping them during the consultation. The person chosen is at the discretion of the claimant and might be, but is not limited to, a parent, family member, friend, carer or advocate.

The Department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising benefit services to improve customer experience, build trust in our services and the decisions we make, and create a more efficient service.

The Government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today.

We will bring forward a Green Paper in spring 2025. We will listen to and engage with disabled people as we develop proposals for reform in this area and across the employment support system.