Asked by: Claire Hazelgrove (Labour - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
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 engage with external organisations, including charities representing people with specific health conditions such as Parkinson’s, to support the training and upskilling of staff involved in Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The department is taking a number of steps to support the training and upskilling of staff involved in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments, while ensuring that all clinical training materials are of the highest quality, evidence-based, and free from bias.
Since September 2024, following the commencement of the Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS) contracts, the DWP Clinical Team has taken ownership of all clinical core training and guidance materials (CTGM). These materials are now developed and assured independently of charities and other stakeholder organisations to ensure consistency, impartiality and alignment with best clinical practice. The CTGM is aligned with national guidance, including that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which draws on the best available evidence and incorporates input from clinical experts, people with lived experience, carers and the public.
Senior clinicians from charities and stakeholder groups are invited to contribute to a monthly education programme delivered to DWP-employed clinicians. All contributions are subject to prior review to ensure they are evidence-based, clinically focused and free from bias.
In addition, the department facilitates ongoing engagement through quarterly stakeholder information sessions. These provide an opportunity for charities and other organisations to raise questions, offer feedback, and highlight concerns regarding clinical training materials. Feedback can also be submitted in advance of these sessions for discussion.
Through this approach, the department ensures that training remains robust, evidence-based and informed by wider expertise, while maintaining appropriate independence and clinical integrity in the development of guidance for PIP assessments.
On 9 September 2024, DWP assumed responsibility for the Core Training and Guidance Materials (CTGM) used within the Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS), provided by DWP to the HAAS assessment suppliers. Following the transfer of responsibilities to DWP, all training and guidance materials are currently being comprehensively reviewed and updated. A newly established team is leading this work, ensuring that all materials are aligned with national best practice standards. To support this, independent clinical experts are being engaged to provide external quality assurance, helping to ensure the accuracy, relevance, and consistency of the content. Once the review and update is complete, external organisations, including charities representing people with specific health conditions such as Parkinson’s, will be invited to comment.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for an assessment for Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Information on the average time a claim spends with the assessment provider is publicly available in the Department’s Personal Independence Payment statistics release (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-january-2026).
In the ‘Personal Independence Payment: Clearance/Outstanding Times and Customer Journey Statistics to January 2026, England and Wales (XLS)’ file, tables 1A and 1B contain the PIP average actual clearance times for new claims and DLA reassessments respectively. Column ‘(iii) Referral to AP to return from AP’ is measured as the average time between the date of referral to the assessment provider and the date of the return of the assessment provider’s recommendation to the Department. It is reasonable to assume that only a small part of this time is related to the period between the assessment and the return of the recommendation.
The figures do not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant during this phase or claims that were returned to DWP without a report and disallowed because the claimant failed to attend the assessment without good reason.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that speech and language therapists do not undertake PIP assessments for people without disabilities related to speech and language.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The department recognises the importance of ensuring all health professionals (HPs) have appropriate experience, skills, and training to undertake Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments.
Assessment suppliers ensure that all HPs who carry out PIP assessments on behalf of the department receive comprehensive training in disability analysis. This includes training in the evaluation of how medical conditions affect claimants in their day-to-day activities, as well as awareness training in specific conditions. Suppliers are required to demonstrate that their HPs meet all our requirements before they are approved to carry out assessments on behalf of DWP.
PIP assessments focus on the impact of a person’s condition on their ability to carry out everyday activities, rather than the condition itself. HPs are therefore trained to assess the functional effects of a broad range of health conditions on an individual’s daily life.
The small number of qualified and regulated speech and language therapists undertaking assessments are required to meet the same training, qualification, and competency standards as all other health professionals carrying out PIP assessments on behalf of DWP.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that PIP assessments prioritise reports from specialists relevant in the field that the individual has a disability from.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The Personal Independent Payment (PIP) assessment is a functional assessment, which focuses on how an individual’s health condition or disability affects their ability to carry out a range of daily living and mobility activities.
Health Care Professionals must review and consider all further evidence to inform their advice to the DWP Case Manager. The PIP assessment does not require prioritisation of supplementary information provided by specialists as all evidence must be interpreted and evaluated using medical reasoning, considering the circumstances of the case and the expected impact on the claimant’s daily living and/or mobility.
All Health Professionals (HPs) receive comprehensive training in disability analysis, including how to assess the impact of medical conditions on people’s day-to-day activities, as well as awareness training in a range of conditions, symptoms and disabilities.
HPs have access to a wide range of Core Training and Guidance Material (CTGM). These resources offer detailed clinical and functional information, including the potential risks and limitations of a range of conditions to support HPs in delivering informed assessments. All core training and guidance materials are quality assured to ensure their accuracy from both a clinical and policy perspective.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to exempt veterans who are amputees from repeat Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) awards, including the rate payable and the duration, are set on an individual basis, based on the claimant’s needs and the likelihood of those needs changing. Regular reviews are a key feature of the benefit and ensure that payments accurately match the current needs of claimants. Award durations can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review at the ten-year point.
For most claimants over 25, their first review will be a minimum of 3 years and, assuming they remain entitled, 5 years for their next review.
We know PIP can be improved, which is why we launched the Timms Review, working with disabled people and their organisations to ensure the benefit is fit for the future. We launched a Call for Evidence that closed last week and are beginning to carefully consider and analyse the responses provided. We have also outlined a varied approach to evidence gathering so people can share their views on how the benefit should be reformed.
Asked by: Mel Stride (Conservative - Central Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average estimated cost is of providing a PIP assessment (a) by telephone, (b) by video call and (c) face to face.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
PIP assessment costs are managed and recorded at an overall Functional Assessment Service level rather than by specific assessment types or benefits, and as such the department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of assessments for Personal Independence Payment are conducted (1) face to face, and (2) through paper-based review.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
While this information is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing the data in a future statistical release.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 87358 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations, 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 September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
While this information is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing this data in a future statistical release.
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 telephone-based PIP assessments are recorded.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The department does not hold readily available data on the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments that are recorded by assessment channel.
As set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, the department intends to move to a position where all health assessments are recorded by default, with a process allowing claimants to opt out should they wish to do so. This change is intended to improve transparency and trust in the assessment process. Work is under way to implement this measure.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP assessment officers left their role in each month since January 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The information requested is not held in the format specified.
However, while data on the monthly totals for average health professional (HP) full‑time equivalents (FTEs) working on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) contracts, and overall HP FTE leavers, is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing this information in a future statistical release.