Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his contribution of 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 642, on DWP: performance, what level of service his Department expects to provide to meet his aim of providing a personal independence payment system that works for those most in need; and how he will measure success.

By the Autumn, we expect no one to be waiting for an asessment for longer than 26 weeks and by the end of the year, we expect no one will be waiting longer than 16 weeks.

We have committed to two independent reviews of the PIP assessment, the first of which will report to Parliament by the end of this year, and we will carefully consider any recommendations made. The terms of reference for the review are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/simplifying-the-welfare-system-and-making-sure-work-pays/supporting-pages/introducing-personal-independence-payment