Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has set targets for the performance of personal independence payment assessors.

The contracts awarded for the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) do not include targets in relation to the performance of individual assessors. The Department has a set of service level agreements setting out the expectations for overall service delivery, which is measured at Provider level rather than by assessor. These include the quality of assessment reports, number of days to provide advice to the Department and evidence of claimant satisfaction. Where assessors fall below the required standards and do not improve, processes are in place to revoke their approval to carry out assessments.