PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Social Security Benefits: Disability (17 November 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what reasonable adjustments have been put in place by her Department and its contractors when undertaking telephone assessments for disabled persons.

Asked by:
Navendu Mishra (Labour)

The department and our assessment providers are committed to providing a quality, sensitive and respectful service to everyone. Individuals are encouraged to alert their assessment provider of any additional requirements they may have and providers will endeavour to meet any such reasonable requests.

Individuals can access additional support throughout the assessment process, for example help filling in the questionnaire. Companions are able to join the telephony assessment, as they would have done for the face to face assessment. This is confirmed to the individual in the initial invitation to assessment letter for all telephone assessments. If choosing to request a companion, they will be added to the call by the Health Professional at the start of the assessment.

To further enhance the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) telephony service, PIP providers have implemented a video relay service for claimants with British Sign Language requirements, to enable deaf claimants to participate in an assessment; we are exploring whether this solution could support the Work Capability Assessment process.

Answered by:
Justin Tomlinson (Conservative)
25 November 2020