Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether personal independence payment assessors receive training on the symptoms of post-polio syndrome so that they are able to identify the complex symptoms experienced by claimants with that syndrome.

The Personal Independence Payment assessment is not a medical assessment and there is no requirement for the Health Professional to diagnose a condition and recommend treatment options. Health Professionals are trained to be experts in disability analysis and to assess how a disability or syndrome affects the functional capability of each individual claimant. Whilst there is no specific training relating to post-polio syndrome, all Health Professionals have access to a range of resources, including relevant training on specific impairments, including those that are mental, intellectual and cognitive, as well as experienced clinicians to support them in assessing claimants with conditions that they may not be familiar with.