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Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Tuesday 17th January 2023

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Answer of 11 January 2023 to Question 117740 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations, what proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments carried out by (a) Atos and (b) Capita were audited by his Department in each year since 2018.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments carried out by (a) Independent Assessment Services (IAS)/Atos and (b) Capita that were audited by the department in each year since 2018, is shown in the table below:

(a) IAS (ATOS)

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Percentage Audited (%)

1.6

1.7

2.0

1.9

1.6

(b) Capita

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Percentage Audited (%)

2.6

2.6

3.0

3.0

2.4

Please note

  • The number of audited assessments is shown as a proportion of completed assessments carried out by the assessment providers.
  • The proportion shown for the year 2022 only includes data from January 2022 to November 2022, as the data for December 2022 is not yet available.
  • Although the proportions being audited between IAS and Capita are different, the sample sizes used are designed to ensure the results give the same level of accuracy and margin of error across each provider contractual area.
  • The above data regarding completed assessments is derived from contractual management information produced by the assessment providers.
  • The above data regarding number of assessments audited is derived from contractual management information produced by the Independent Audit Team.
  • The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.
Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Wednesday 11th January 2023

Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments carried out by (a) Atos and (b) Capita were found to have been of an unacceptable standard in (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21 and (iii) 2021-22.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments carried out by Atos and Capita, that were found to have been of an unacceptable standard, are shown below:

(a) ATOS

(i) Apr-19 - Mar-20

(ii) Apr-20 - Mar-21

(iii) Apr-21 - Mar-22

U grades Percentage (%)

3.8%

3.3%

3.1%

(b) Capita

(i) Apr-19 - Mar-20

(ii) Apr-20 - Mar-21

(iii) Apr-21 - Mar-22

U grades Percentage (%)

4.0%

3.2%

3.1%

Please Note:

  • U grades shown are as a proportion of audited assessments carried out by Independent Audit on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions;
  • Only audited assessments are included in the data for this response;
  • 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.
Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 9th January 2023

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, what proportion of Personal Independent Payment applicants who were assessed face-to-face, via telephone or via video call requested that their assessment be recorded, in each month since January 2021.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The information requested is not available in the format requested. However, we can confirm that less than 1% of Personal Independence Payment claimants ask for their assessments to be recorded.

Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 9th January 2023

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 were carried out by his Department by (a) phone, (b) video and (c) via paper-based assessment in each month since January 2021.

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 2021 are shown in the table below:

PIP Assessment Channel

(a) Telephone

(b) Video

(c) Paper-based Review

Jan-21

53,650

80

10,970

Feb-21

52,810

50

10,480

Mar-21

60,110

60

10,800

Apr-21

48,640

30

9,760

May-21

46,250

30

9,840

Jun-21

51,110

30

10,490

Jul-21

51,970

40

10,810

Aug-21

45,810

440

9,930

Sep-21

49,570

720

10,590

Oct-21

49,810

690

10,520

Nov-21

54,740

730

11,500

Dec-21

43,050

1,140

9,440

Jan-22

58,680

2,620

12,170

Feb-22

54,600

3,470

13,170

Mar-22

58,900

4,330

15,050

Apr-22

49,390

4,190

12,950

May-22

59,260

4,490

13,710

Jun-22

52,680

6,040

13,790

Jul-22

53,370

6,060

14,380

Aug-22

55,640

5,230

14,910

Sep-22

54,340

5,710

15,540

Oct-22

56,450

6,740

15,990

Nov-22

60,680

8,210

18,340

Please note

  • All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10;
  • All of the above data is derived from management information produced by the assessment providers;
  • 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;
  • Telephone and video MI is drawn from a variety of non-contractual products, some of which were only available weekly, therefore some aggregation has been applied;
  • Contractual MI became available for Capita from May 2022 and for Independent Assessment Services from August 2022.
Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 7th November 2022

Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)

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 assessments were carried out (a) face-to-face, (b) remotely and (c) on paper in each month since 1 January 2022.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The number and proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments carried out (a) face to face, (b) remotely, including telephone and video, and c) paper based, can be found in the tables below.

For the months from January to September 2022 (the latest month that figures are available for) the number of assessments per channel are:

Month

Remote

Paper-Based

Face-to-Face

Jan-22

61,300

12,170

90

Feb-22

58,070

13,170

3,150

Mar-22

63,230

15,050

6,390

Apr-22

53,580

12,950

5,100

May-22

63,740

13,710

5,700

Jun-22

58,680

13,790

5,530

Jul-22

59,430

14,380

5,350

Aug-22

62,860

14,910

5,950

Sep-22

62,530

15,540

6,440

With channel proportion as:

Month

Remote

Paper-Based

Face-to-Face

Jan-22

83.3%

16.5%

0.1%

Feb-22

78.1%

17.7%

4.2%

Mar-22

74.7%

17.8%

7.5%

Apr-22

74.8%

18.1%

7.1%

May-22

76.7%

16.5%

6.9%

Jun-22

75.2%

17.7%

7.1%

Jul-22

75.1%

18.2%

6.8%

Aug-22

75.1%

17.8%

7.1%

Sep-22

74.0%

18.4%

7.6%

Please Note:

  • All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10;
  • Percentages may not always total 100% due to rounding;
  • Proportions are based on actual values and may not add up due to rounding;
  • All of the above data is derived from management information produced by the assessment providers;
  • 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.
Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Wednesday 26th October 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for a Personal Independent Payment assessment for people (a) over and (b) under the age of 50 in each of the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

The information is not available in the format requested, as we do not collate this data broken down by the age of the claimant. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) referrals are dealt with in date order and a claimants age is not considered when arranging an assessment.

We can, however, provide the Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT) in working days for a claimant waiting for a PIP assessment, in each of the last 12 months. This is shown in the table below:

Month

Oct21

Nov21

Dec21

Jan 22

Feb22

Mar22

Apr22

May22

Jun 22

Jul 22

Aug 22

Sep22

AACT

67.7

66.7

67.2

70.1

66.8

61.9

58.5

54.2

52.3

49.2

48.5

45.5

Please note

  • The average time is measured from the time the referral is received by the assessment provider to the time the report is returned to DWP.
  • This data cannot be broken down by over and under the age of 50.
  • The above does not include Special Rules cases, which have a separate measure (with an average target of 2 days which has consistently been met during this period).
  • All the above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the assessment providers.
  • 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.
Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 24th October 2022

Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the performance of Personal Independence Payment assessment providers.

Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

The department closely monitors all aspects of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment process, including the performance of assessment providers. Provider performance is measured across a range of service level agreements setting out the department's expectations for service delivery, and they are held to account for their performance.

We work continuously with assessment providers to further improve the assessment process. PIP providers have recently introduced new management processes to drive performance across their service. This includes new or enhanced systems for assessing the quality of reports, and any advice the department receives.

Assessment providers always strive to provide an excellent service to our claimants and have consistently exceeded their customer satisfaction target of 90%.

Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 24th October 2022

Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to revise the assessment process for Personal Independence Payments to (a) increase accessibility and (b) ensure assessors are specifically trained to understand stroke outcomes.

Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Assessment providers are required to ensure that all health professionals (HPs) carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments have training and knowledge of the clinical aspects and overall functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments. This includes the disabling effects of strokes on a claimant’s life.

The department does not believe it is necessary for providers to allocate HPs to assessments based on whether they are specialists in the specific conditions or impairments of the claimants they are assessing. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that HPs are experts in disability analysis, with emphasis on the effects of health conditions and impairments on the claimant's daily life.


HPs can access a wide range of clinical resources to research any conditions presented. This includes evidence-based protocols, e-learning modules or case studies, as well as keeping knowledge up to date through Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Both PIP providers have a condition insight report on strokes and their effects on claimants’ lives.


The department is committed to improving our services and works continuously with providers to improve the assessment process. The Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, explored how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future. The aim is to improve claimant experience of our services, including accessibility, enabling independent living, and increasing employment outcomes. We are considering all the responses to the Green Paper proposals and what future policy changes might look like. These will be set out in the White Paper later this year.

Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 24th October 2022

Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Personal Independence Payment Assessors are allocated to assessments based on their medical experience and specific knowledge of relevant conditions.

Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Assessment providers are required to ensure that all health professionals (HPs) carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments have training and knowledge of the clinical aspects and overall functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments. This includes the disabling effects of strokes on a claimant’s life.

The department does not believe it is necessary for providers to allocate HPs to assessments based on whether they are specialists in the specific conditions or impairments of the claimants they are assessing. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that HPs are experts in disability analysis, with emphasis on the effects of health conditions and impairments on the claimant's daily life.


HPs can access a wide range of clinical resources to research any conditions presented. This includes evidence-based protocols, e-learning modules or case studies, as well as keeping knowledge up to date through Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Both PIP providers have a condition insight report on strokes and their effects on claimants’ lives.


The department is committed to improving our services and works continuously with providers to improve the assessment process. The Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, explored how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future. The aim is to improve claimant experience of our services, including accessibility, enabling independent living, and increasing employment outcomes. We are considering all the responses to the Green Paper proposals and what future policy changes might look like. These will be set out in the White Paper later this year.

Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 24th October 2022

Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessors have (a) medical experience or (b) expertise on (i) strokes and (ii) other conditions.

Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Assessment providers are required to ensure that all health professionals (HPs) carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments have training and knowledge of the clinical aspects and overall functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments. This includes the disabling effects of strokes on a claimant’s life.

The department does not believe it is necessary for providers to allocate HPs to assessments based on whether they are specialists in the specific conditions or impairments of the claimants they are assessing. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that HPs are experts in disability analysis, with emphasis on the effects of health conditions and impairments on the claimant's daily life.


HPs can access a wide range of clinical resources to research any conditions presented. This includes evidence-based protocols, e-learning modules or case studies, as well as keeping knowledge up to date through Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Both PIP providers have a condition insight report on strokes and their effects on claimants’ lives.


The department is committed to improving our services and works continuously with providers to improve the assessment process. The Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, explored how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future. The aim is to improve claimant experience of our services, including accessibility, enabling independent living, and increasing employment outcomes. We are considering all the responses to the Green Paper proposals and what future policy changes might look like. These will be set out in the White Paper later this year.