Recommendation 17

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 benefits 91 inquiry, suggest that, too often, guidance is not followed correctly. We believe this points to fundamental weaknesses in the Department’s quality control over its contractors, which we return to later in this Report. We recommend the Department reviews the guidance on carers’ and family members’ evidence to assess why they may still not be being given due weight, and confirm what action it will take to ensure assessment providers are following it correctly. We also recommend the Government urgently investigate the use of covert surveillance by assessors, working with organisations that support claimants to establish whether this practice is widespread, and work with the assessment providers and contractors to ensure claimants are treated fairly and in line with the guidance.