Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2017 to Question 118979, what assessment he has made of his Department's ability accurately to assess clients against the mental functional descriptors of the work capability assessment; and if he will review his Department's policy of not employing psychologists and psychiatrists to adjudicate in such assessments.

All Healthcare Professionals who undertake Work Capability Assessments are registered healthcare professionals, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists or occupational therapists, with a minimum of two years broad - based post registration experience, although this can be waived in exceptional circumstances by the Department. They are subject to a thorough recruitment process that includes formal interview and all are required to pass a competency based assessment. Once recruited, they undertake a comprehensive new entrant training programme.

All healthcare professionals then have 100% of their work audited until it is demonstrated that their work meets the required standards. At this stage, the Assessment Provider make a recommendation to the DWP that the healthcare professional should be formally approved. All practitioners are then subject to a programme of case reviews and audit.

They are not required by DWP to hold specialist qualifications or specific previous experience in mental health conditions. As part of the induction Healthcare Professionals receive training in mental health issues and are required to read evidence based protocols on mental health conditions. In addition, they are required to engage in a programme of continuing medical education which includes modules on mental health conditions.

The Work Capability Assessment is a functional assessment which focuses not on a claimant’s condition but on the functional effects of that condition. It looks at a range of different activities related to physical, mental, cognitive and intellectual functions and certain additional criteria that do not directly measure function to determine capability for work.