Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to share information on personal independence payment claimants between his Department and social services departments in local authorities.

A key part of the personal independence payment claims process is that claimants are able to tell the Department who is best placed to provide supporting evidence. Such evidence can come from a variety of sources, including social services, as well as GPs, community nurses, family members and carers.

As part of continuous improvement, the Department will continue to work with other areas of the public sector, including local authorities, to improve this information sharing process to ensure the best possible outcomes for claimants. The Government is also considering the recommendation by Paul Gray in his independent review of the PIP assessment to explore the potential for wider sharing of information, and will respond in due course.