Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to mitigate the risk of delays in processing new applications for (a) personal independence payment and (b) employment support allowance due to (i) self-isolation or (ii) reduced face to face assessments following the covid-19 outbreak.
As announced on Monday 16 March we are stopping all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits and introducing alternative measures to assess from Tuesday 17 March. We are working at pace with our Assessment Providers to minimize any inconvenience and delays as much as possible.
No estimate has yet been made on the average waiting times for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) while these alternative arrangements are in place. Claims to ESA and UC will be payable prior to a Work Capability Assessment having been carried out and payments for Personal Independence Payment will be backdated from the date of decision in line with normal rules following an assessment.