Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 58
We welcome that DWP has made some improvements so that the assessments process is more...
Recommendation
We welcome that DWP has made some improvements so that the assessments process is more accessible. However, we heard that these changes “are quite ad hoc and reactive”. In response to this Report, the Government should set out how many legal challenges it has faced relating to failure to make reasonable adjustments for health assessments for benefits in the last five years, broken down by year.
Government Response Summary
The Department states that the requested information is not stored in a way that would allow them to provide accurate figures on legal challenges relating to failure to make reasonable adjustments for health assessments.
Paragraph Reference:
58
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
This information is not stored in a way that would allow us to provide figures that are accurate enough to be meaningful. Claims are not logged as “reasonable adjustments cases” and as a result it is not practical to identify challenges that specifically relate to a failure to make reasonable adjustments for health assessments. Any legal challenge that includes grounds that there has been failure to make reasonable adjustments will typically form part of a challenge or claim in which other legal issues are raised. Often the grounds for challenge are not initially apparent, and might change, particularly if the claimant is a litigant in person. Legal challenges come through many different routes and are dealt with by different teams within the Department, depending on the nature of the challenge or legal remedies sought. It might be that a proposed challenge is not pursued by the claimant following initial pre- action correspondence or a challenge ends if the court refuses a grant of permission to proceed with a ground of challenge. It might also be that proposed proceedings are settled at an early stage.