PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations (30 December 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if claimants are able to exercise their right to record personal independence payment (PIP) assessment by using mobile phone or laptop computer for audio recordings.

Asked by:
Jonathan Reynolds (Labour)

Claimants may use their own equipment to record their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) face-to-face consultation, should they wish to. As stated in the PIP assessment guide (PIPAG), recording of consultations are subject to: informing the assessment provider in advance that they wish to record the consultation, the ability to provide a complete and accurate copy of the audio recording to the health professional (HP) at the end of the consultation, and signing a consent form to provide a copy of the audio recording and not use the audio recording for unlawful purposes.

Certain devices that are capable of editing, real-time streaming or video recording the session are not approved. Non-approved devices include (but are not limited to) PCs, tablets, smart phones, MP3 players, smart watches, and devices that are not capable of providing a verifiable media copy that can be easily checked during the assessment. Acceptable formats for such recordings are restricted to CD and audio cassette only.

For telephone assessments, claimants cannot record the assessment themselves as it is not possible for them to provide the HP with a copy of the audio recording in an acceptable format at the end of the consultation. However, audio recording of PIP telephone assessments is now available when requested by a claimant, this went live with Independent Assessment Services (IAS) on Monday 21 September 2020 and with Capita 30 November 2020.

Section 1.6.57 can be found in part 1 of the PIPAG at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-1-the-assessment-process#face-to-face-consultation

There is no requirement for claimants to record their PIP assessment.

Answered by:
Justin Tomlinson (Conservative)
11 January 2021