Recommendations & Conclusions
6 items
2
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Health assessments for b…
Acknowledged
For most people, disability and health-related benefit assessments go smoothly. But in a sizable minority of cases, things continue to go very wrong. This has implications for claimant trust in the systems that extend beyond those directly affected by poor decision-making. Our predecessor’s inquiry focused on improving technical aspects of …
Government response. The Department highlights ongoing initiatives, tests, and the Health Transformation Programme aimed at improving the claimant experience, building trust, and modernizing benefit services, without committing to specific new actions in response to the report's recommendations.
Department for Work and Pensions
16
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Health assessments for b…
Acknowledged
We welcome efforts to reduce unnecessary reassessments for people whose conditions or needs are unlikely to change. However, ESA/UC and PIP are different benefits with different purposes, and this must be reflected in any criteria for reassessment. The Department should adopt a version of the severe conditions criteria for PIP, …
Government response. The Department has made progress with its plans to test the Severe Disability Group, so that the relevant claimants can benefit from a simplified process.
Department for Work and Pensions
17
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Health assessments for b…
Acknowledged
DWP provides assessors with guidance on issues including evidence use, contributions of family members and carers, and informal observations which, if correctly followed, would address many of the concerns raised in this area. The accounts we have heard in this inquiry, and those from the previous Committee’s Health assessments for …
Government response. The government describes Mandatory Reconsideration as a valuable process and is undertaking a number of small-scale internal learning exercises to better understand what it can learn from the disputes stage. This work is still in very early development.
Department for Work and Pensions
18
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Health assessments for b…
Acknowledged
We welcome the plans outlined in the Government’s Health and Disability White Paper to test specialist assessors and to address the challenges of assessing fluctuating conditions. But we were disappointed that there do not appear to be wider plans to overhaul descriptors. We request that the Government confirm in response …
Government response. The Department states that the PIP assessment criteria were developed with independent specialists, focus on needs arising from a comprehensive range of conditions, and consider an individual’s ability over a 12-month period, and they will test the introduction of a …
Department for Work and Pensions
22
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Health assessments for b…
Acknowledged
When recordings are available, in cases where the findings of assessments are overturned on MR or appeal, the recordings of the original assessment should be checked at least on a sampled basis, to establish whether the erroneous assessment outcome should have been avoided. We welcome the plans to test sending …
Government response. The Department is committed to ensuring individuals receive high-quality assessments as part of the evidence used to decide benefit entitlement and continually looks to improve the efficacy of the assessment process by working closely with providers.
Department for Work and Pensions
26
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Health assessments for b…
Acknowledged
We welcome the opportunity the Health Transformation Programme presents to improve data sharing and reduce the frequency with which claimants have to submit the same information. We recommend that as well as accessing medical information, the single digital platform should allow evidence from previous applications and renewals to be saved …
Government response. The Department recognises the benefit of reviewing and reusing previous evidence and is currently exploring how reusing previous evidence can provide a potential opportunity to reduce the burden on claimants.
Department for Work and Pensions