Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the resumption of face-to-face assessments, what steps her Department plans to take to minimise the number of New Style and Contribution-based employment support allowance claimants reaching the 365 day limit without having received a work capability assessment.

Following their suspension in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be resuming WCA face-to-face assessments from next month. Initially, these will only be for those who we are unable to fully assess by other channels.

We are committed to assessing people as quickly as possible in order that they receive the benefit they are entitled to. The resumption of face-to-face assessments, together with our enhanced capability and improved processes for telephone assessments, will allow us to do this. Furthermore, we are prioritising for assessment contributory Employment and Support Allowance claims that have exhausted or are at risk of exhausting.