Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the (a) guidance and (b) training provided to assessors conducting Work Capability Assessments for people living with ME.

When the FAS Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS) contracts commenced, DWP Clinical Policy Group took over ownership of all the clinical Core Training and Guidance Materials (CTGM). These documents, amongst other things, contain clinical condition specific training including ME.

All HAAS Lot Suppliers are required to use CTGM to inform and develop training programmes and associated materials for their Health Care Professionals (HCPs) delivering Work Capability Assessments, Personal Independence Payment and Specialist benefit assessments on behalf of the DWP. HCPs are required to have appropriate knowledge of the clinical aspects and the functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and disabilities.

To maintain quality and consistency across all Suppliers, we have established a Clinical Authorship Team (CAT), an Editorial Board and a robust quality assurance process. The CAT is responsible for producing, reviewing, and updating all CTGM annually. The CAT is comprised of: Clinical leads, Clinical authors & Admin leads from each of the Suppliers and is overseen by the DWP clinical policy team.

To ensure CTGM is unbiased and fit for purpose it is subject to a rigorous quality assurance process. All materials are clinically quality assured by external independent clinicians (in line with best practice and current up-to-date clinical guidance e.g. NICE guidelines) and policy quality assured by DWP clinical policy experts.