Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has taken steps to reduce the number of assessments a disabled person is required to go through in order to access support when a significant change in their circumstances is unlikely.

In 2018 we introduced updated PIP guidance which ensures that those people who receive the highest level of support, and where their needs are unlikely to change or may get worse, will receive an ongoing award with a light touch review at the ten-year point.

We have also made good progress in reducing repeat assessments. For example, through the Severe Conditions criteria, we have stopped repeat assessments for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit for people with the most severe and lifelong conditions.

We also announced in the Green Paper last year that we will test a new Severe Disability Group (SDG) so that those with severe and lifelong conditions can benefit from a simplified process to access PIP, ESA and Universal Credit without needing to go through a face-to-face assessment or frequent reassessments. We will consider the test results once complete to influence thinking on the next stages of this work.

We have and will continue to look at our benefit processes and procedures to ensure that the overall claimant experience is what they rightly expect and deserve.