Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses to determine eligibility for recorded home assessments for personal independence payment; what support his Department provides for vulnerable claimants who require home assessments; and what processes are undertaken by his Department to consider the evidence from recorded home assessments.

Any claimant can request a home consultation for Personal Independence Payment, however a claimant may specifically require a home consultation where their diagnosis suggests extreme difficulty travelling to an assessment due to their health condition or impairment.

All PIP claimants are entitled to use their own equipment to record assessments, within an assessment centre or at their home. This equipment should meet DWP standards. You can find standards for recording PIP assessments, for each Assessment Provider, on their respective websites, or by using the following links:

Atos: http://www.atoshealthcare.com/pip/faq_view/recording_my_consultation

Capita: http://www.capita-pip.co.uk/en/assessment-process.html

The Health Professional does not need to separately consider the recording of a recorded assessment, as they will have conducted the assessment themselves and produced a report; however a copy the recording will be held securely for 14 months following. The Department will consider evidence from the recorded home assessment report in the same way it considers all PIP assessments; by treating people as individuals, considering the impact of their impairment or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability.