Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) increase in-person assessments and (b) uphold claimants' rights to (i) fair treatment and (ii) reasonable adjustments.

As announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we will be carrying out more face-to-face assessments while continuing to ensure we meet the needs of those who may require a different method of assessment because, for example, a reasonable adjustment is appropriate for them.

We are also consulting on a new DWP safeguarding approach, to make it clear what the department and its staff are expected to do to in order to safeguard the public.