Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has issued guidance to Capita on routinely recording interviews for all Personal Independence Payment assessments; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of requiring Capita to routinely record such interviews on (a) claimant experience and (b) access to information relevant to an appeal.

Currently, claimants can opt-in to having their Personal Independence Payment assessment recorded. Audio recording is available for face-to-face and telephone assessments with all the Department’s assessment providers. These arrangements are publicised on providers’ websites and in assessment invitation letters.

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper our intention to change this approach to one where we record all health assessments as standard, with a process for claimants to opt-out of a recording should they choose. By doing so, we hope to improve people’s trust in the health assessment process, and we are currently developing our plans to implement this measure. We have not yet issued guidance to Capita or any health assessment provider about recording assessments as standard.

The Department is committed to monitoring the impacts of its policies. This includes monitoring the impact of audio recording health assessments as standard for disability benefits.