Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of (a) telephone and (b) online Work Capability Assessments in ensuring the needs of disabled people are (i) met and (ii) understood.

All Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) including paper-based, telephone, video and face-to-face are conducted by fully qualified, clinical professionals who have undergone a comprehensive training programme designed and approved by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The quality of their advice is continually assured internally by the assessment suppliers and externally by the department's independent audit function.

DWP conducted a Health Assessment Channels Trial (HACT) to evaluate how well telephone and video assessments are working compared to face-to-face assessments. The Health Assessment Channels Research report, published on 7 October 2024, presents findings from mixed-method research conducted by Ipsos to understand the impact of the introduction of remote channels on claimant experiences.

The HACT found that over three quarters of Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance claimants that participated in the trial felt that the channel was suitable after having attended their assessment. This was consistent across telephone, video and face-to face assessments. Moreover, when asked about their channel preference for future assessments, channel preference was closely correlated to the channel through which their most recent assessment had been conducted.

We remain committed to enabling a multi-channel assessment approach ensuring the needs of all our customers, including those that are disabled, are met.