Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made made of the effect of personal independence payments assessments on stress levels for sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease.

No such assessment has been made. We recognise that attending a face-to-face assessment for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be a stressful experience for some people, which is why we do not carry out face-to-face consultations where there is enough existing evidence to determine benefit entitlement. Furthermore, where a face-to-face consultation is required, we encourage claimants to bring another person with them to consultations where they would find this helpful to, for example, reassure them or to help them during the consultation. The person chosen is at the discretion of the claimant and might be, but is not limited to, a parent, family member, friend, carer, or advocate.

PIP also recognises that for the most severely disabled claimants, the award review process could seem unnecessarily intrusive. Existing PIP claimants with the most severe, lifetime disabilities, whose functional ability has remained the same, are more likely to have their evidence reviewed by a DWP Decision Maker and will not need to have another face-to-face assessment with a health professional.