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Select Committee · Work and Pensions Committee

Health assessments for benefits

Status: Closed Opened: 27 Sep 2021 Closed: 7 Aug 2023 25 recommendations 4 conclusions 2 reports

The Committee investigated the assessment processes for health-related benefits. These include Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. The Committee is focusing on how the Department for Work and Pensions can improve the application and assessment processes for these benefits. The Committee …

Clear

Reports

2 reports
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Easy Read - Health assessments for benefits: summary HC 128 14 Apr 2023 0 —
Fifth Report - Health assessments for benefits HC 128 14 Apr 2023 29 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
3 Recommendation Fifth Report - Health assessments for b… Deferred

The Department should provide the Committee with a quarterly update on progress with implementing the...

The Department should provide the Committee with a quarterly update on progress with implementing the Section 23 Agreement once it is agreed.

Government response. The government deferred providing quarterly updates on the Section 23 Agreement, stating that discussions with the EHRC are ongoing and legally privileged, making it inappropriate to discuss the contents of any agreement or future information while confidential discussions are underway.
Department for Work and Pensions
8 Recommendation Fifth Report - Health assessments for b… Deferred

Face-to-face, in person assessments were the main form of assessment for Personal Independence Payment and...

Face-to-face, in person assessments were the main form of assessment for Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance/Universal Credit before the pandemic, despite widespread agreement amongst claimants and the organisations that support them that they are frequently unnecessarily stressful and poorly suited to measuring the impact of some health …

Government response. The Department is evaluating remote assessments through the Health Assessment Channel Trial, scheduled to complete later this year, and will use the evidence to inform how their multi-channelled service capability can be optimised, including whether claimants will be able to …
Department for Work and Pensions

Oral evidence sessions

9 sessions
Date Witnesses
20 Jul 2022 Chloe Smith MP · Cabinet Office, Gill Holmes · Department for Work and Pensions, Katie Farrington · Department for Work and Pensions View ↗
29 Jun 2022 Ben Macpherson MSP · Scottish Government, Matthew Duff · Scottish Government, Peter Schofield · Department for Work and Pensions, Professor Paul Knight OBE · Social Security Scotland, Rt Hon Dr Thérèse Coffey · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs View ↗
22 Jun 2022 Dr Ben Baumberg Geiger · University of Kent, Professor Ben Barr · University of Liverpool View ↗
25 May 2022 Antony King · Capita, Dr Barrie McKillop · Independent Assessment Services, Dr Paul Williams · Maximus, Emma-Jane Bannister · Maximus, Laura Erskine · Capita, Stuart Paterson · Independent Assessment Services, Suzie Frew · Maximus View ↗
11 May 2022 Aaron Dryden · Carers UK, Caroline Selman · Public Law Project, Daphne Hall · National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA), Dr Kieran Sharrock · British Medical Association (BMA), Hannah Nicholls-Harrison · Disability Benefits Consortium, Mark Jackson · Marie Curie, Minesh Patel · Mind View ↗
30 Mar 2022 Andy Pike · The Royal British Legion, Caroline Cooke · Forces in Mind Trust, Philip Martin · University of Salford/Sanctions, Support and Service Leavers View ↗
16 Mar 2022 Catherine Hale · Chronic Illness Inclusion Project, Jane Hunt · Association of Disabled Professionals, Jasmine Wyeth · Rethink Mental Illness, Patricia Vespucio · GIPSIL, Sarah Rawlings · MS Society, Tracey Lazard · Inclusion London View ↗
12 Jan 2022 Charles Smith · Citizens Advice, Evan John · Sense, Hannah Nicholls-Harrison · Mencap, Helen Wild · Down’s Syndrome Association, Joanne Gordon · Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK, Louise Rubin · Scope, Marc Francis · Zacchaeus 2000 Trust (Z2K), Morgan Vine · Independent Age, Sophie Corlett · Mind View ↗
1 Dec 2021 Dr Paul Litchfield CBE · Department for Work and Pensions, Paul Gray CB · Department for Work and Pensions View ↗

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
12 Jul 2023 — Correspondence with the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work relating …
7 Sep 2022 — Correspondence from the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work following…
7 Sep 2022 — Correspondence from Social Security Scotland in connection with the health asse…