Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled PIP claimants can communicate electronically with the DWP and contractors delivering the Health Assessment Advisory Service where email is required as a reasonable adjustment.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides email as a reasonable adjustment where a claimant is unable to, or experiences difficulty in, communicating through standard channels.

Email communication can support the use of assistive technologies such as JAWS, Dragon, ZoomText, Fusion and Windows Magnifier, enabling customers to read or listen to information in a way that meets their accessibility needs.

Before email is established as a reasonable adjustment, customers are informed of the risks associated with personal information being sent outside DWP's secure IT systems. Email is only implemented once the claimant understands these risks and where alternative communication methods would otherwise place them at a clear disadvantage. The Department's security policies and procedures are followed in all cases.

Where email is agreed as the appropriate reasonable adjustment, DWP also notifies the relevant assessment supplier so that communications can be aligned with the customer's agreed accessibility requirements.

Assessment suppliers delivering the Health Assessment Advisory Service are required to implement reasonable adjustments for disabled claimants where appropriate, including communication needs. Where email communication has been agreed by DWP as a reasonable adjustment, assessment suppliers are expected to use the communication channels available to them to support effective engagement with claimants throughout the assessment process.