Testing 1-2, 1-2.

In our December 2017 blog, we were hoping there would be Good Tidings following The House of Commons, Work and Pensions Select Committee enquiry into the claimant experience of Personal Independence Payment(PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) applicants.

Good news does appear to be on the way as the DWP have recently announced they intend to make recording the PIP face-to-face assessment a standard part of the claim process. The DWP have also stated they will commission a three-stage independent review of PIP claim forms in order to make improvements.

The DWP statement is in response to the enquiry which heard stories of significant problems with the reports produced by the health care professionals conducting the face-to-face assessment. The enquiry identified key areas of concern including, fundamental errors, the omission of key information and completely inaccurate physical examination findings. One contributor summarised the problems perfectly:

“Apparently I walk my dog daily, which is baffling because I can barely walk and I do not have a dog!”

A number of PFP clients have experienced poor quality face-to-face assessments and inaccurate report findings so can we only hope the DWP are quick to turn the ‘intention’ to record PIP assessments into practice.