Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to ensure that contracted assessment providers provide high quality customer service while they process delayed personal independence payment claims.

We are absolutely committed to improving the overall Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimant experience, as this is what claimants rightly expect and deserve. Assessment providers use feedback from support organisations and individuals to improve their customer service, and have used this feedback to make improvements to appointment letters and directions.

PIP assessment providers have consistently exceeded the Claimant Satisfaction target of 90% since the measurement began in 2016. This is measured by a survey, commissioned from a third party research company by the providers on behalf of the department.

Reducing end to end customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for DWP. We continue to work closely with both assessment providers, amending and refining current

processes and work closely with them to improve the waiting times whilst maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.