Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account is taken when assessing people for personal independence payments of the need for aids and appliances as a proxy of the condition of the person being assessed.

The PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments includes guidance on the assessment criteria and how they should be applied.

Section 3.2 ‘Applying the criteria’ (page 75) explains how to assess a person who is reliant on aids and appliances to complete an activity. This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449043/pip-assessment-guide.pdf