Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the process of applying for Personal Independence Payments for people with multiple sclerosis.

No such assessment has been made; however, the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) application process is kept under continual review to ensure all claimants can access the service.

As a result, we have introduced a number of measures, which include: Relay UK, which provides a service if a claimant cannot hear or speak on the telephone, as well as dial-in for third parties on phone calls. We have also reworded the PIP2 questionnaire to improve clarity and introduced a digital PIP2 and evidence upload function, making it possible to claim for PIP without leaving the home. We have also expanded the assessment methods to include telephone and video, while introducing recording by request for telephone and face-to-face appointments.

Claimants are also kept informed and updated at each stage of the process, through our improved text message service.