A new report by the Work and Pensions Committee has found that the health assessments system used by people who cannot work or face extra costs due to disability or ill-health to access vital benefits “continues to let down those who rely on it”.
However, the Committee of cross-party MPs, led by chair Sir Stephen Timms MP, proposes several “quick and easy wins” to help restore confidence in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and “drive down the high rate of decisions reversed on appeal”.
One of the suggestions the Committee has proposed is that DWP pays claimants an assessment rate of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if the consultation is delayed and takes place outwith Department processing time targets. The current journey time for new PIP claimants is 14 weeks, measured from the point of initial application to decision letter being issued.
The Committee is also keen to see all assessments recorded by default, with claimants having the option to opt-out. It said that footage could then be used to review cases more accurately without having to go to appeal, and help assessors learn from past mistakes - this is something the DWP has recently announced is planned for next year.
The Committee added that some of the suggestions could drive down the high rate of decisions reversed on appeal, which still stands at 69 per cent for PIP.
Work Capability Assessments used for Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are set to be abolished as part of new DWP measures, but will remain in place until at least 2026.
Work and Pensions Committee recommendations
MPs on the Committee recommended:
- allowing claimants to choose between remote or in-person assessments
- extending the deadline to return forms
- targets to reduce assessment waiting times
- payments to people who have been forced to wait beyond the new targets
Commenting on the report, Committee Chair Sir Stephen Timms MP, said: “We surveyed eight and a half thousand people as part of our inquiry and found a profound lack of trust in the system as a consistent theme.
“Many will welcome the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment. The Government’s process improvements, and recognition that the system causes undue stress and hardship, are steps in the right direction.
“However, waiting years for changes won’t cut it when quicker wins are available: flexibility of choice on assessment by phone or face-to-face; recording assessments by default; extending deadlines to reduce stress; and sending claimants their reports. All this will give much-needed transparency to a process that so few trust yet affects their lives so fundamentally.”
He added: “All efforts must be made for unnecessary limbo and stress for claimants to be put to an end.”
You can view the full report online here.
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