DWP reveals major rule changes on PIP, ESA and Universal Credit assessments

Published date13 September 2021
Publication titleBirmingham Mail: Web Edition Articles (England)
Those with medical issues who apply for PIP Personal Independence Payment, ESA Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit are usually asked to attend an appointment with a health professional to see how badly their condition affects them and if they are able to work.

But around a quarter of people are not happy with the assessments, the DWP says.

READ MORE: DWP looks at new PIP 'benefit swap' scheme -amid fears it could be too confusing

Some claimants have criticised the process as inaccurate, stressful, difficult and repetitive.

However, the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic have forced the DWP to rethink its procedures because it has not been possible to assess people in person.

And that has led to some of the new changes being put in place, the DWP explained.

It said: "75 per cent of people claiming ESA, 74 per cent of people claiming PIP and 79 per cent of people claiming UC say they are ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their overall experience. However, we also know that a sizeable minority of people are not content.

"For example, nine per cent of PIP decisions have been appealed through a tribunal. We want to ensure more people have a positive experience."

READ MORE: PIP rules change means claimants with these 21 conditions could get DWP back pay

"People said that assessment reports were not always accurate and that this could lead to poor decisions being made. Some people found our application and assessment processes difficult and stressful.

"People sometimes had to provide the same information during the assessment process more than once. People felt Work Capability Assessments WCAs and PIP assessments were repetitive. People wanted more say in where their assessments took place. People felt repeat assessments were unnecessary where they had a condition that would not improve."

And in its Health and Disability Green Paper looking at the future of benefits, the department explains the changes that are being introduced following those criticisms:

Creating an integrated health assessment service for sharing medical evidence with consent if a person is applying for more than one benefit, so claimants do not have to provide information more than once Offering to make audio recordings of assessments to improve trust in decisions Exploring the idea of video recordings of face-to-face assessments. Making more use of paper-based assessments in which decisions are based on documents and filling in forms, to make more decisions quickly...

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