Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 29
29
Accepted
The Department has made, and continues to make, reforms to improve PIP assessment and WCA...
Recommendation
The Department has made, and continues to make, reforms to improve PIP assessment and WCA processes. But the pace of change has been extremely slow. The plans to scrap WCAs are significant and will require further scrutiny in the months and years to come. In the meantime, too many people claiming disability and health-related benefits, even those not directly affected by poor decision- making, continue to view the processes with great trepidation, and for a minority the experience of assessment can be devastating. The continuing high overturn rates at appeal suggest fundamental flaws in the assessment system. We recommend that while it develops its long-term plans to remove WCAs, DWP accelerates improvements to health assessments in the short-term. We have suggested some areas for change in this Report to start that process—recording of assessments and sharing reports to increase transparency are key, and these should be implemented without delay. (Paragraph 125) 94 Health assessments for benefits
Government response summary AI-generated
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.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
Thorough evaluation through tests and trials is vital in ensuring that any improvements the Department makes—including proposals set out in the White Paper—are rolled out based on robust evidence of what works. For instance, as outlined in the response to recommendation 7, evidence from the Health Assessment Channel Trial will inform how the Department’s multi-channelled service capability can be optimised, including whether claimants will be able to choose their preferred assessment channel. In the response to recommendation 15, the Department also outlines its progress on plans to test the Severe Disability Group, working with specialist health professionals to draw up a set of draft criteria which were shared with several charities, whose feedback was used to further develop the criteria. Other recent/ongoing developments outlined in other recommendation responses include the publication, on 8 June, of the first set of UC WCA statistics; and the Department’s commitment to review guidance and training for health professionals on the use of evidence from carers and family members, which will be accompanied by work with the assessment providers to address any compliance issues. The Department has begun to test the feasibility of sharing assessment reports with people by default rather than on request. As outlined in its response to recommendation 20, it is also exploring the recording of assessments as part of its work to develop a new Health Assessment Service, including looking at how audio recording can also be offered for video assessments. The Department will be seeking ways to improve the whole process, including helping claimants to better understand that the opt-in option for audio recording is already available.
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