Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people in receipt of a letter notifying them of a postponed PIP reassessment are counted as awaiting a PIP (a) assessment and (b) reassessment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are still some claimants in receipt of Adult DLA who are yet to be reassessed. These cases are classed as awaiting PIP ‘reassessment’. DLA payments will continue until they are invited to claim PIP, and we have not contacted anyone on DLA to inform them of any postponement.
There are claimants who have made a new claim to PIP but not yet received a decision. A proportion of these will be with the Assessment Provider and counted as awaiting ‘assessment’. No one in this category would receive a letter indicating their assessments is postponed, unless there are unusual circumstances, and the Provider needs to re-arrange a specific appointment for example.
There are claimants already in receipt of PIP whose award is due to end (or has ended). Some cases are yet to be reviewed and would be counted as awaiting ‘review’. Some cases have been referred to the Assessment Provider and would therefore be counted as awaiting ‘assessment’. Where appropriate, we write to claimants to let them know the process is ongoing and we are extending their award, but we do not inform claimants that their review or assessment is postponed.
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 assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) PIP and (b) Employment and Support Allowance medical consultations.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance assessments are not medical consultations requiring a health professional (HP) to diagnose a condition, its severity or recommend treatment options. They are functional assessments, which require an HP to look at the impact of conditions and impairments on an individual’s daily life.
All assessment providers (APs) have set standards regarding the quality of assessments. The department closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the APs.
Independent audit, a team comprising of experienced HPs, continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers. Audit refers to a comprehensive check of the elements of the assessment, including the evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the assessment report completed by the HP. The check is completed against a set of guidelines to ensure a consistent approach is taken. This ensures that assessment reports are fit for purpose, clinically justified and sound, and provide sufficient information for the department to make an informed decision on entitlement to benefit.
In addition, the department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising health and disability benefit services. It will create a more efficient service, an improved claimant experience and help increase trust in decision making. Furthermore, an ongoing programme of engagement and research has been established to ensure that the design and delivery of the HTP is rooted in evidence.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of complaints received by (a) Capita and (b) other external assessors for Personal Independence Payment applications in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department manages the PIP contracts robustly and has a full set of service level agreements setting out our expectations for service delivery.
It is important for providers to have their own complaints process to deal with dissatisfaction about the service they provide. This process signposts complainants to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) if they are dissatisfied with the provider’s final response to their complaint.
The process is designed to ensure that those complaining about third party provision have access to the same complaint escalation route as those who complain about services provided by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This encourages providers to resolve complaints at the earliest opportunity. It also gives providers the right incentives to offer good customer service and to comply with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Principles of Good Complaint Handling.
In each of the last five calendar years (2019 to date), the total number of cases where Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment providers (APs), Capita and Independent Assessment Services (IAS), received a complaint, are shown in the table below.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 to date |
Capita | 2800 | 1390 | 1380 | 1380 | 1580 |
IAS | 6140 | 2800 | 2390 | 1760 | 1830 |
Please note:
- All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10.
- All above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the APs.
- The above data is derived from unpublished management information, which is collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.
All APs strive to provide an excellent service to claimants and are held to account for their performance. To put the above figures into context, the total number of complaints shown as a percentage of all completed assessments for the same period, are as follows:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 to date |
Capita | 1.24% | 0.74% | 0.76% | 0.56% | 0.57% |
IAS | 0.87% | 0.51% | 0.41% | 0.24% | 0.23% |
Please note:
The above percentages have been derived from the unrounded totals.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on the Health Transformation Programme.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department’s spend for delivering HTP as of the end of March 2023 is £168 million.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to reduce waiting times for PIP assessments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service.
We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.
We have seen a decrease in PIP clearance times, with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 15 weeks at the end of July 2023. This is because we’re:
In addition, the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising health and disability benefit services to create a more efficient service, to reduce processing times and improving trust in our services and decisions. As part of this, from July 2023, a limited number of claimants have been able to begin their claim for PIP entirely online, which we aim to roll out across England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the end of 2024.
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, if he will take steps to ensure that PIP assessors receive adequate training relating to (a) Parkinson’s disease, (b) multiple sclerosis, (c) Crohn’s disease and (d) colitis.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Personal Independence Payment assessments are carried out by qualified health professionals (HPs), who receive comprehensive training in assessing functional capability relating to both physical and mental health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and Colitis.
HPs have access to a range of resources and experienced clinicians to support them in assessing individuals with specific conditions. Assessment providers engage with medical experts, charities, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen their training programmes.
This year’s Health & Disability White Paper committed to developing the skills of HPs. As a result, the department began a proof of concept to match an individual’s primary health condition to a HP who has professional experience in their condition. In addition to their professional experience, HPs will also take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions.
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of initial PIP assessments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Assessment quality is a priority for both the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) providers and the department. The department works extensively with providers to make improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures, to ensure a quality service. A high standard is maintained by having an independent audit function that continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers.
DWP monitors providers against a range of measures and monthly performance meetings are in place to support delivery of the contracts and ensure that where action is required, it can be focused and targeted. Improvements in the PIP assessment process have been supported by two independent reviews and DWP has also taken on board recommendations from the Work and Pensions Committee.
In addition, the department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising Health and Disability benefit services. It will create a more efficient service and a vastly improved claimant experience, reducing journey times and improving trust in our services and decisions. Furthermore, an ongoing programme of engagement and research has been established to ensure that the design and delivery of the HTP is rooted in evidence.
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, if he will make it his Department's policy to conduct all Personal Independence Payment assessments in person.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
There are no plans to conduct all Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments in person. PIP assessments are undertaken by telephone, video and face to face, all following the same structure. Since telephone and video assessments were introduced, there has been no evidence to suggest these delivery channels are less effective than face to face.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many assessments for personal independence payments were carried out by his Department by (a) phone, (b) video and (c) paper-based assessment in each month of 2023 as of 12 September.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments carried out by (a) phone, (b) video and (c) paper-based assessment in each month, from January 2023, are shown in the table below:
PIP Assessment Channel | (a) Telephone | (b) Video | (c) Paper-based Review |
Jan-23 | 61,890 | 8,610 | 17,750 |
Feb-23 | 55,990 | 7,600 | 17,420 |
Mar-23 | 67,080 | 8,570 | 20,200 |
Apr-23 | 51,490 | 6,110 | 16,260 |
May-23 | 59,450 | 6,670 | 18,600 |
Jun-23 | 64,640 | 6,920 | 19,800 |
Jul-23 | 62,680 | 6,230 | 18,270 |
Aug-23 | 62,250 | 6,170 | 20,440 |
Please note
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will undertake a review of the suitability of Personal Independence Payment descriptors when assessing people with fluctuating conditions.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment criteria account for fluctuations by considering an individual’s ability to undertake 12 specific daily activities over a 12-month period. It is essential for the assessment to accurately reflect the impact of variations in an individual's level of impairment - this is important for all health conditions and impairments, not only those which more typically fluctuate. For each activity, if a descriptor applies more than 50 per cent of the time, that descriptor should be chosen.
All health professionals are required to assess individuals in line with the statutory requirements, including: whether an individual can complete each of the 12 activities; the manner in which they can do it; and whether they can complete each activity “safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period”.
Many of the changes set out in Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper aim to improve our assessment of fluctuating conditions, such as the way we use medical evidence, and developing the capability of our assessors. We will also explore options for introducing a new way of gathering evidence of fluctuation in a person’s condition before their assessment.