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, how many claimants have had their Personal Independence Payments reduced in the last year following (a) a telephone consultation and (b) an in-person assessment.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Table (a) shows the number of claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) who had an Award Review by telephone or in person between November 2021 and October 2022 who had their award decreased or disallowed.
Table (a) – claimants who had their award reduced at in-person or telephone assessment
| Volume |
In person | 1600 |
Telephone | 15400 |
Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)
Notes:
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, when home assessments for Personal Independence Payments will resume in-person.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Home assessments for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) were resumed from 8 August 2022. Where other methods, such as paper-based, telephone, video, or face-to-face assessment in an assessment centre cannot be undertaken, a home assessment will be arranged.
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 he has made an assessment of the potential merits of permitting Universal Credit claimants to receive their payments every two weeks rather than every month during increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Guy Opperman
No such assessment has been made.
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 - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
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%.
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 - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
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.
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 - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
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.
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 - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
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.
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 input Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessors have on shaping the PIP assessment to ensure it is fit for purpose.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
Where there is sufficient available evidence, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments are carried out via a paper-based review (PBR), without the need for a formal consultation. Health Professionals (HPs) can also seek additional information from claimants, GPs or other supporting health professionals where this might help them complete a PBR, where it is appropriate to do so. Where a consultation is necessary, the PIP Assessment Guide (section 1.6) informs HPs to adapt their approach to the needs of the particular claimant, not take a prescriptive approach and ensure that claimants are able to put across the impact of their health condition or impairment in their own words.
Assessment providers are required to ensure that all HPs carrying out PIP assessments have training and knowledge of the clinical aspects and overall functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments.