Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 29 April (HL15269), what existing forums they were engaged with on the design of the feasibility test for a single assessment for Employment and Support Allowance/Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment.

We committed to working with stakeholders to inform our approach to Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reform in the Improving Lives Command Paper published in 2017 and have been engaging on this broader issue through a number of forums. This has included our Policy Forum, a small group involving academics, think tanks and a number of disability charities.

Specifically, on the single assessment, we are currently gathering evidence to support the design of the feasibility test and will be involving stakeholders to inform this in the coming months. The outcomes from the feasibility test will enable us to establish if a single assessment would improve the customer journey and deliver quality and accurate outcomes.