Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Timms review on the Health Transformation Programme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health Transformation Programme is transforming the entire Personal Independence Payment (PIP) service to improve customer experience and efficiency, build trust in our decisions and support people to enter or remain in work. The Programme is working closely with the Timms review and will support the delivery of any service changes following its outcome, to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the stigma around benefit assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, we have launched our wider review of the PIP assessment. At the heart of this will be coproduction with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and MPs so their views and voices are heard. We’ve also made a commitment that those with severe, lifelong conditions will not be called for a UC reassessment – allowing them to live with dignity and security.
We are also taking action to get the basics right and improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits. This includes exploring ways to improve trust and transparency in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Work Capability Assessments through reviewing our approach to safeguarding, recording assessments to increase trust in the process, and moving back to having more face-to-face assessments while continuing to meet the needs of people who may require different methods of assessment. We are committed to providing a multi-channel health assessment service. WCAs are still cleared using a questionnaire and supporting medical evidence where possible. Where this is not possible, individuals will be required to have a face-to-face, telephone or video assessment.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the value for money of video call health assessments provided by Ingeus.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is committed to delivering health assessments that are accessible, efficient, and represent value for money. Video assessments, including those delivered by Ingeus, form part of a modernised service designed to improve flexibility and claimant experience. The department continues to monitor supplier performance and assess delivery models to ensure they meet contractual standards, providing a quality service to claimants and the best value for money for the taxpayer.
To safeguard claimants, robust procedures are in place to mitigate the impact of any technical problems during video assessments. These may include prompt rescheduling of appointments or the consideration of an alternative assessment method if appropriate, ensuring that no claimant is disadvantaged due to circumstances beyond their control. The department remains focused on ensuring timely access to benefits for all eligible individuals.
From the commencement of the Ingeus contract on 9 September 2024 to 21 July 2025, a total of 1,839 Work Capability Assessments for Employment and Support Allowance were completed via video.
During the same period, 11 video assessment appointments were cancelled/rescheduled due to technical problems. These issues could include problems with broadband connectivity, DWP system issues such as the Medical Services Referral System (MSRS) or the Document Repository System (DRS) etc.
Information on delays specifically caused by technical problems is not held.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the reintroduction of face-to-face benefit assessments does not negatively impact veterans with PTSD or mobility impairments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We already undertake a number of face-to-face benefit assessments. However, as announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we intend to do more while preserving alternative health assessment channels to meet the specific needs of people who require a different channel, for example as a reasonable adjustment.
In all cases, the Healthcare Professional (HCP) aims to complete the assessment using the customer’s health questionnaire and any supporting medical evidence provided. Should this not be possible the customer is invited to a consultation. Before sending an invitation to a consultation, the HCP considers whether a specific assessment channel is needed due to the customer’s health or circumstances. Otherwise, customers are offered the next available appointment, which can be changed if they inform us that a reasonable adjustment is appropriate in their circumstances.
We are committed to ensuring equal access to our services, in line with the Equality Act 2010. Customers are encouraged to inform us of any reasonable adjustments at any stage. If notified, the assessment provider will consider an alternative assessment method.
On 25 June, I attended an online event with veterans, as one of the series of consultation events on the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 49218 on Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations, whether her Department plans to (a) make an assessment of the potential merits of exploring more tailored mechanisms to reduce the frequency of assessments for people with (i) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and (ii) other clearly documented, severe and long-term health conditions where improvement is unlikely and (b) involve (A) people with lived experience and (B) relevant charities in the (1) development and (2) implementation of such mechanisms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As stated in our response to Question 49218, we are not planning to exempt specific conditions, but we are planning to reduce reassessments for those with the most severe conditions.
We aim to do this in Universal Credit through guaranteeing that for both new and existing claims, those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed in the future. In PIP, we are exploring ways we could use evidence from other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe conditions to undergo a full functional assessment.
In the Green Paper, we also promised to review the PIP assessment to make sure that it is fit for the future. I shall lead the review in close consultation with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, and other experts. To get this right, I am bringing together stakeholders to agree the scope and timing of the review. I will then publish Terms of Reference for the review in due course.
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, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of Serco's performance against key performance indicators in their Functional Assessment Services contract.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Serco secured the Functional Assessment Services (FAS) contract for Lot 3 (south-west England) through a competitive and transparent procurement under the Public Contract Regulations in line with Government policies. Serco strives to provide an excellent service to claimants and are held to account for their performance.
The contract with Serco is robustly managed to obtain optimal performance, with a dedicated performance management team monitoring performance on an ongoing basis. DWP does not use key performance indicators in the FAS contract; instead, we monitor performance through the achievement of Target Performance Levels (TPLs) and Volume Clearance Targets (VCTs). As the contract is still relatively new, we do not yet have sufficient data to share a full assessment of Serco's performance. However, plans are being developed for a routine statistics publication.
We are working hard to ensure all services are delivered to a high standard for customers and we have sufficient controls in place to quickly identify any future deterioration.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, if she will take steps to prevent people with (a) lifelong and severely disabling illnesses and (b) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis from having to undergo repeated reassessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, so we are not planning to exempt specific conditions, but we are planning to reduce reassessments for those with the most severe conditions.
We aim to guarantee that for both new and existing Universal Credit claims, those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed in the future. Our plans to improve experiences of Personal Independence Payment also include reducing assessments for this group. We are exploring ways we could use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe health conditions and disabilities to undergo a full PIP functional assessment.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) increase in-person assessments and (b) uphold claimants' rights to (i) fair treatment and (ii) reasonable adjustments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we will be carrying out more face-to-face assessments while continuing to ensure we meet the needs of those who may require a different method of assessment because, for example, a reasonable adjustment is appropriate for them.
We are also consulting on a new DWP safeguarding approach, to make it clear what the department and its staff are expected to do to in order to safeguard the public.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is any upper limit on the proportion of assessments carried out for each assessment modality (face-to-face, telephony, video, paper-based) by providers of the Health Assessment Advisory Service.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance. Only where a paper-based review is not possible, will the claimant then be invited to an assessment.
The contracts between Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its assessment suppliers’ state that 80% of assessments should be carried out remotely (via telephone or video) and 20% carried out face-to-face, including home visits.
DWP remains committed to enabling a multi-channel assessment approach. Any future decisions will be evidence-based and to ensure this we will draw on existing evidence, as well as continuing to build our understanding via research and analysis.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of trialling the provision of a copy assessment report when informing claimants of a decision on a benefit claim under the Health Transformation Programme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising benefit services to improve customer experience, build trust in our services and create a more efficient service. As we develop these services, we are exploring a range of ideas to establish what works best for our customers with HTP providing the platform for change and the flexible capability to trial new ideas.
Audio recording is available on an opt-in basis for face-to-face and telephone assessments. Customers are informed of the audio recording offer prior to their assessment in invitation letters. The programme is looking at how audio recording can also be offered for video assessments and will be seeking ways to improve the whole process. We will set out the detail of any changes in due course.
We have undertaken initial tests where assessment reports are shared with customers. We are evaluating the outcomes of these tests to establish next steps.