The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said it recognises that “improvements could be made to the assessment process” for people claiming disability benefits and confirmed plans to publish a Health and Disability White Paper later this year.
SNP MP, Kirsten Oswald, asked the DWP what steps are being taken to increase confidence in the disability benefits assessment process among claimants.
In a written response, Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health, Chloe Smith MP said: “The Shaping Future Support - The Health and Disability Green Paper explored how the benefits system can better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future by improving claimant experience of our services, enabling independent living and improving employment outcomes.”
Ms Smith continued: “We recognise that improvements could be made to the assessment process, and we plan to publish a Health and Disability White Paper later this year.”
Ms Oswald, who represents East Renfrewshire and the SNP Westminster deputy leader, also asked the DWP about giving claimants the right to request an assessor with knowledge of their condition.
In a similar written response to the previous question, Ms Smith said: “The Department operates a robust quality assurance and independent audit process to ensure assessment decisions are consistent.
“We recognise that improvements could be made to the assessment process and we plan to publish a Health and Disability White Paper later this year following the views shared in response to the Green Paper published last year.”
The cross-party Work and Pensions Committee is encouraging people on Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit to share their experiences of the assessments process.
In an online survey, which is due to close soon, the Work and Pensions Committee has a list of mixed open and closed questions, offering health benefit claimants the chance to give honest answers using their own words.
The introduction to the ‘How could DWP improve health assessments for PIP and ESA?’ survey explains: “This survey is for people who have had an assessment to claim PIP, and/or people who have had a Work Capability Assessment to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or as part of a Universal Credit claim. You don’t have to be claiming either benefit at the moment, and you can still fill in the survey if your claim wasn’t successful.”
It continues: “We will use your responses in our Health assessments for benefits inquiry. We might publish some or all of your responses on our website or social media, or read them out when we're asking questions in a public Committee meeting or in the House of Commons. We won't ask for your name or publish any details that could identify you.”
One of the questions states: “DWP is thinking about whether it should introduce a ‘single digital platform’ for PIP and ESA. This might, for example, allow people to make and receive updates on their claims (such as decisions) online, without filling in paper forms, or allow for information on claims (such as medical evidence) to be shared between applications for different benefits.”
It then asks: “Do you think DWP's proposed ‘single digital platform’ is a good idea? Why/why not? (250 words max).”
The Committee also states that if you have had an assessment for another health related benefit that isn't PIP or ESA, such as Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, or you are responding on behalf of an organisation, you can send evidence to the parliamentary inquiry here.
This survey takes around 35 minutes to complete and will be closing soon as it states it will only remain open until mid-April 2022.
You can complete the survey here.
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