Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's complaints resolution procedure is when an external disability benefit assessor such as Atos or Capita submits an assessment for employment support allowance or personal independence payment which a claimant considers to be inaccurate; and whether claimants should apply to the assessor or to his Department to remedy inaccuracies in their assessment.

Claimants with a complaint against the decision on their entitlement to benefit should direct their complaint to the Department for Work and Pensions. Information for customers about how to complain can be found on GOV.UK and in customer information leaflets. The Department has systems in place which enable disputes and complaints as to accuracy to be addressed promptly. If a claimant considers that an Employment and Support Allowance or Personal Independence Payment award is based on an inaccurate assessment then they can ask the Department for an explanation of the decision, a copy of the assessment report, or if they disagree with the decision they can ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration. A Mandatory Reconsideration enables the claimant to provide any further relevant evidence, and enables disputes to be addressed, in many cases, without need to go through an appeal - which can be a protracted process. For complaints against the service they have received from contracted providers such as Atos or Capita, claimants should raise those complaints directly with the provider concerned. Information on how to do so can be found on the individual providers’ websites and in their customer information leaflets.