Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog of work capability assessments.

We are working closely with Atos to deliver the best possible service for claimants and ensure the number of cases outstanding with them continues to fall.

We announced last summer that we were looking to bring in further provision to support the delivery of the Work Capability Assessment. In the meantime, we have been working closely with Atos to improve their performance and have put in place changes to better manage the flow of work between the Department, all designed to reduce waiting times for claimants. These measures are taking effect and the backlog of cases has fallen over the past few months.