Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance is provided to Personal Independence Payment assessors on considering the effects of active medical treatment on claimants’ functional ability.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments focus on the functional impact of a claimant’s health condition, rather than diagnosis or treatment alone. At assessment, Health Professionals (HPs) gather information on any past, current and ongoing medical treatment related to conditions that impact function, including medication, therapy, monitoring, side effects and effectiveness. Where necessary to properly inform their advice, HPs should and routinely do seek additional evidence from treating health professionals or other appropriate sources.
Medical treatment is covered throughout training and guidance, and HPs routinely consider the effects of ongoing medical treatment on functional ability when advising on appropriate descriptors. This includes both positive effects, where treatment enables activities to be completed more reliably, and negative effects, such as side effects or symptom fluctuation. These factors are particularly important when applying the reliability criteria, including whether an activity can be carried out safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and within a reasonable time. The impact of treatment is also assessed directly within activity 3, which relates to managing therapy or monitoring a health condition.
Where symptoms fluctuate, including because of treatment variability, HPs assess functional impact over a 12-month period to reflect good and bad days and determine how descriptors apply on the majority of days. HPs also consider what medical treatment is being undertaken when advising on a recommended review date, aligning this with the point at which an individual’s functional needs could reasonably be expected to change, for example following recovery or changes to treatment. Claimants are also expected to notify the Department directly of any changes in their condition or circumstances, so that their award can be reviewed where appropriate.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how fluctuating symptoms are taken into account within Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments focus on the functional impact of a claimant’s health condition, rather than diagnosis or treatment alone. At assessment, Health Professionals (HPs) gather information on any past, current and ongoing medical treatment related to conditions that impact function, including medication, therapy, monitoring, side effects and effectiveness. Where necessary to properly inform their advice, HPs should and routinely do seek additional evidence from treating health professionals or other appropriate sources.
Medical treatment is covered throughout training and guidance, and HPs routinely consider the effects of ongoing medical treatment on functional ability when advising on appropriate descriptors. This includes both positive effects, where treatment enables activities to be completed more reliably, and negative effects, such as side effects or symptom fluctuation. These factors are particularly important when applying the reliability criteria, including whether an activity can be carried out safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and within a reasonable time. The impact of treatment is also assessed directly within activity 3, which relates to managing therapy or monitoring a health condition.
Where symptoms fluctuate, including because of treatment variability, HPs assess functional impact over a 12-month period to reflect good and bad days and determine how descriptors apply on the majority of days. HPs also consider what medical treatment is being undertaken when advising on a recommended review date, aligning this with the point at which an individual’s functional needs could reasonably be expected to change, for example following recovery or changes to treatment. Claimants are also expected to notify the Department directly of any changes in their condition or circumstances, so that their award can be reviewed where appropriate.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how ongoing medical treatment is taken into account within Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments focus on the functional impact of a claimant’s health condition, rather than diagnosis or treatment alone. At assessment, Health Professionals (HPs) gather information on any past, current and ongoing medical treatment related to conditions that impact function, including medication, therapy, monitoring, side effects and effectiveness. Where necessary to properly inform their advice, HPs should and routinely do seek additional evidence from treating health professionals or other appropriate sources.
Medical treatment is covered throughout training and guidance, and HPs routinely consider the effects of ongoing medical treatment on functional ability when advising on appropriate descriptors. This includes both positive effects, where treatment enables activities to be completed more reliably, and negative effects, such as side effects or symptom fluctuation. These factors are particularly important when applying the reliability criteria, including whether an activity can be carried out safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and within a reasonable time. The impact of treatment is also assessed directly within activity 3, which relates to managing therapy or monitoring a health condition.
Where symptoms fluctuate, including because of treatment variability, HPs assess functional impact over a 12-month period to reflect good and bad days and determine how descriptors apply on the majority of days. HPs also consider what medical treatment is being undertaken when advising on a recommended review date, aligning this with the point at which an individual’s functional needs could reasonably be expected to change, for example following recovery or changes to treatment. Claimants are also expected to notify the Department directly of any changes in their condition or circumstances, so that their award can be reviewed where appropriate.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Personal Independence Payment (a) assessments and (b) reassessments were carried out (i) face-to-face, (ii) remotely and (iii) on paper in each month since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the recent Autumn Budget, the government reenforced a commitment it made in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, to increase face-to-face assessments for disability benefits.
All assessment suppliers have contractual requirements to raise the proportion of assessments conducted in person, and are expected to plan and manage recruitment accordingly, with progress regularly reviewed. The department is working closely with suppliers to boost capacity, with a key focus on recruiting suitably qualified health professional to support delivery in assessment centres Through these measures, the department will meet the government priority to increase the proportion of face-to-face Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments to 30% from 5% in 2024.
The number and proportion of PIP assessments carried out by channel of assessment from July 2024 until the most recent month available can be found in the table below, with comparative annual figures from 2019 provided below.
Year | Proportion of PIP assessments undertaken face-to-face |
2019 | 83.4% |
2020 | 19.0% |
2021 | 2.9% |
2022 | 6.5% |
2023 | 7.4% |
2024 | 5.0% |
The information is not available in the breakdowns requested for all four Functional Assessment Service (FAS) suppliers for the time-period requested. We can provide data on the total number of assessments (which includes assessments and reassessments) for all four suppliers and for the time-period requested. Data for July 2024 and August 2024 is for pre-FAS contracts, data for September 2024 is a blend of pre-FAS and FAS contracts, data for October 2024 onwards if for FAS contracts.
Month | Face-to-Face | Telephone | Video | Paper-Based | ||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
Jul-24* | 5,700 | 5.4% | 75,000 | 71.4% | 3,000 | 2.8% | 19,000 | 18.3% |
Aug-24* | 3,400 | 3.7% | 70,000 | 74.5% | 2,300 | 2.4% | 17,000 | 18.1% |
Sep-24** | 1,300 | 1.7% | 58,000 | 79.9% | 610 | 0.8% | 13,000 | 17.3% |
Oct-24*** | 2,600 | 2.5% | 81,000 | 78.0% | 1,900 | 1.8% | 18,000 | 17.7% |
Nov-24 | 3,600 | 3.9% | 69,000 | 75.1% | 2,900 | 3.2% | 16,000 | 17.8% |
Dec-24 | 3,000 | 4.2% | 54,000 | 75.8% | 2,200 | 3.1% | 12,000 | 17.0% |
Jan-25 | 4,000 | 4.2% | 72,000 | 76.3% | 3,200 | 3.3% | 15,000 | 16.2% |
Feb-25 | 3,600 | 4.2% | 64,000 | 75.6% | 3,100 | 3.6% | 14,000 | 16.5% |
Mar-25 | 4,200 | 4.6% | 69,000 | 75.0% | 3,400 | 3.7% | 15,000 | 16.6% |
Apr-25 | 4,100 | 4.8% | 65,000 | 75.4% | 3,100 | 3.6% | 14,000 | 16.2% |
May-25 | 4,300 | 5.1% | 63,000 | 75.3% | 3,100 | 3.7% | 13,000 | 15.9% |
Jun-25 | 4,700 | 5.5% | 64,000 | 75.2% | 3,000 | 3.6% | 13,000 | 15.7% |
Jul-25 | 4,800 | 5.2% | 70,000 | 76.5% | 3,200 | 3.5% | 13,000 | 14.7% |
Aug-25 | 3,700 | 4.8% | 58,000 | 76.8% | 2,500 | 3.2% | 11,000 | 15.1% |
Sep-25 | 4,400 | 5.0% | 68,000 | 77.5% | 3,300 | 3.8% | 12,000 | 13.8% |
Please Note
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 99887, how many Condition Insight Reports are made available to health professionals making Personal Independence Payment assessments; and whether sickle cell disorder is the subject of a Condition Insight Report.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Health assessments are not medical consultations and do not require health professionals (HPs) to diagnose conditions or recommend treatment. Instead, they are functional assessments designed to evaluate how an individual’s health conditions or impairments affect their ability to carry out daily living activities.
HPs carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments have access to a suite of 54 Condition Insight Reports (CIRs). These reports provide background information on a range of health conditions and their potential functional impacts, supporting them in carrying out evidence-based assessments.
Sickle cell disorder is not currently the subject of a dedicated CIR. However, the CIRs and Continuing Professional Development documents available to HPs provide detailed and quality-assured information on many of the symptoms commonly associated with sickle cell disorder.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with (a) Fibromyalgia and (b) other complex and lifelong conditions are not asked to complete a number of reassessments for Personal Independence Payments following an award.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition and so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances.
Award reviews are an important feature of PIP to ensure people receive the correct level of benefit, both for those whose needs will increase and those whose needs may decrease.
Award durations are based on an individual’s circumstances and advice received from the independent health professional who carries out the assessment. Awards can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review at the ten-year point for those with needs which are unlikely to change.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people claiming Personal Independence Payments had their award assessed through (a) a telephone consultation, (b) an in person assessment, (c) a paper based assessment and (d) a video assessment in each of the last ten years; and what the approval rate was for each method.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Management information on the number and proportion of Personal Independence Payments assessments by channel is published in Table 2.32 of the Pathways to Work: Evidence pack: Chapter 2 reforming the structure - GOV.UK. Telephone and video channels have only been available since 2020.
The information on approval rates requested is not readily available, and providing it would incur a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has issued guidance to Capita on routinely recording interviews for all Personal Independence Payment assessments; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of requiring Capita to routinely record such interviews on (a) claimant experience and (b) access to information relevant to an appeal.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Currently, claimants can opt-in to having their Personal Independence Payment assessment recorded. Audio recording is available for face-to-face and telephone assessments with all the Department’s assessment providers. These arrangements are publicised on providers’ websites and in assessment invitation letters.
We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper our intention to change this approach to one where we record all health assessments as standard, with a process for claimants to opt-out of a recording should they choose. By doing so, we hope to improve people’s trust in the health assessment process, and we are currently developing our plans to implement this measure. We have not yet issued guidance to Capita or any health assessment provider about recording assessments as standard.
The Department is committed to monitoring the impacts of its policies. This includes monitoring the impact of audio recording health assessments as standard for disability benefits.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many face-to-face PIP assessments have taken place since July 2024, broken down by month.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) face-to-face assessments carried out each month from July 2024 to August 2025 can be found in the table below.
Month | Face-to-Face |
Jul-24 | 6,000 |
Aug-24 | 3,000 |
Sep-24 | 1,000 |
Oct-24 | 3,000 |
Nov-24 | 4,000 |
Dec-24 | 3,000 |
Jan-25 | 4,000 |
Feb-25 | 4,000 |
Mar-25 | 4,000 |
Apr-25 | 4,000 |
May-25 | 4,000 |
Jun-25 | 5,000 |
Jul-25 | 5,000 |
Aug-25 | 4,000 |
Please Note
The number of PIP face-to-face assessments conducted is not available at a regional level. However, we can provide the information split by Lot. The number of PIP face-to-face assessments carried out by Lot from July 2024 to August 2025 can be found in the table below.
| Lot 1 - Northern England | Lot 2 - Midlands & Wales | Lot 3 - South-West | Lot 4 - London, South-East & East Anglia |
Jul-24 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | |
Aug-24 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 700 | |
Sep-24 | 200 | 1,000 | <100 | |
Oct-24 | 200 | 2,000 | 100 | 500 |
Nov-24 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 300 | 1,000 |
Dec-24 | 900 | 1,000 | 200 | 800 |
Jan-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 300 | 1,000 |
Feb-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 400 | 900 |
Mar-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 400 | 1,000 |
Apr-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 400 | 1,000 |
May-25 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 400 | 900 |
Jun-25 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 500 | 1,000 |
Jul-25 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 600 | 800 |
Aug-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 500 | 700 |
Please Note
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many face-to-face PIP assessments have been conducted in each region of the UK since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) face-to-face assessments carried out each month from July 2024 to August 2025 can be found in the table below.
Month | Face-to-Face |
Jul-24 | 6,000 |
Aug-24 | 3,000 |
Sep-24 | 1,000 |
Oct-24 | 3,000 |
Nov-24 | 4,000 |
Dec-24 | 3,000 |
Jan-25 | 4,000 |
Feb-25 | 4,000 |
Mar-25 | 4,000 |
Apr-25 | 4,000 |
May-25 | 4,000 |
Jun-25 | 5,000 |
Jul-25 | 5,000 |
Aug-25 | 4,000 |
Please Note
The number of PIP face-to-face assessments conducted is not available at a regional level. However, we can provide the information split by Lot. The number of PIP face-to-face assessments carried out by Lot from July 2024 to August 2025 can be found in the table below.
| Lot 1 - Northern England | Lot 2 - Midlands & Wales | Lot 3 - South-West | Lot 4 - London, South-East & East Anglia |
Jul-24 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | |
Aug-24 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 700 | |
Sep-24 | 200 | 1,000 | <100 | |
Oct-24 | 200 | 2,000 | 100 | 500 |
Nov-24 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 300 | 1,000 |
Dec-24 | 900 | 1,000 | 200 | 800 |
Jan-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 300 | 1,000 |
Feb-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 400 | 900 |
Mar-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 400 | 1,000 |
Apr-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 400 | 1,000 |
May-25 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 400 | 900 |
Jun-25 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 500 | 1,000 |
Jul-25 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 600 | 800 |
Aug-25 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 500 | 700 |
Please Note