Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of preparations made by Maximus for processing Personal Independence Payment claims.

Under the Functional Assessment Service (FAS) contracts which went live on 9 September 2024, assessment suppliers will deliver the Health Assessment Advisory Service on behalf of the department. These FAS contracts are central to the improvements we are making to health assessments.

Individuals now only need to deal with one supplier for the assessment of their health condition or disability, providing a simpler and more straightforward service. Each supplier including Maximus, will be held accountable to the same service delivery performance standards set by the department. Over the longer term, this will enable us to introduce a new integrated Health Assessment Service, which is being developed and built by the DWP Health Transformation Programme.

The department conducted an open and transparent procurement under the Public Contract Regulations in line with Government policies and considered the quality of assessments, the experience for individuals, as well as the value for money offered by each of the bids.