All disability health assessments are set to be recorded on a new system from next year, it has been announced. The DWP recently stated plans to move to a new telephony platform in 2024, making enhancements to the video assessment application.
The move comes after the Work and Pensions Committee recently published a report into the system, The Daily Record reports. The system is used by people who are unable to work or face costs because of disability or ill-health to access vital benefits. The report contained a proposal from the chair, Sir Stephen Timms MP for all assessments to be recorded by default, with an option for claimants to opt-out.
The cross-part committee of MPs said footage could then be used to review cases more accurately without having to go to appeal, and help assessors learn from past mistakes. It added that some of the suggestions could drive down the high rate of decisions reversed on appeal, which still stands at 69 percent for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Work Capability Assessments used for Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are set to be abolished as part of new DWP measures, but will remain in place until at least 2026.
MPs on the Committee also recommended:
- allowing claimants to choose between remote or in-person assessments
- extending the deadline to return forms
- targets to reduce assessment waiting times
- payments to people who have been forced to wait beyond the new targets
Commenting on the report, Committee Chair Sir Stephen Timms, said: “We surveyed eight and a half thousand people as part of our inquiry and found a profound lack of trust in the system as a consistent theme.
“Many will welcome the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment. The Government’s process improvements, and recognition that the system causes undue stress and hardship, are steps in the right direction.
“However, waiting years for changes won’t cut it when quicker wins are available: flexibility of choice on assessment by phone or face-to-face; recording assessments by default; extending deadlines to reduce stress; and sending claimants their reports. All this will give much-needed transparency to a process that so few trust yet affects their lives so fundamentally.”
He added: “All efforts must be made for unnecessary limbo and stress for claimants to be put to an end.”
You can view the full report online here.
