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 contractor providers of medical assessments for Personal Independence Payments ensure that health care assessors carrying out an assessment properly understand the condition of the claimant they are assessing.

Personal Independence Payment assessments are functional assessments designed to consider how a person’s health conditions or impairments affect their ability to carry out daily living and mobility activities.

All assessment suppliers are required to ensure that health professionals (HPs) have appropriate training and knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments. All HPs undertaking assessments on behalf of the department must be registered practitioners and receive comprehensive training in disability analysis, including how to assess the impact of health conditions on day-to-day activities, alongside awareness training covering a range of conditions, symptoms and disabilities. From 9 September 2024 the educational material for all Health Assessment Advisory Service HPs has been provided by DWP.

HPs have access to a wide range of Core Training and Guidance Materials (CTGM). These resources offer detailed clinical and functional information, including the potential risks and limitations of a range of conditions to support HPs in delivering informed assessments.