Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department undertakes to ensure the applicants for personal independence payment and disability living allowance are assessed by accredited healthcare professionals for their specific disability or impairment.

PIP assessments focus on what impact a disability or impairment has on a claimant’s ability to carry out day to day tasks and activities. Therefore, DWP does not require Health Professionals to be specialists in specific conditions or impairments. They are expected to have a broad knowledge of different medical conditions and work with claimants to assess how these affect their daily life.

Health Professionals carrying out PIP assessments have access to training such as evidence based protocols, e-learning modules or case studies as well as keeping knowledge up to date through Continuous Professional Development.

All Health Professionals must have at least 2 years post full-registration experience.

There is no requirement for applicants for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to undergo a face to face assessment with a healthcare professional.