PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Personal Independence Payment: Foetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder (15 October 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all assessors at each stage of (a) a personal independence payment assessment and (b) subsequent appeals have access to insight condition reports for fetal valproate spectrum disorder as recommended in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report.

Asked by:
Jonathan Reynolds (Labour)

Both Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment providers have a Condition Insight Report (CIR) on Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder, which all their Health Professionals (HPs) have access to during the course of the PIP assessment process.

The CIR on Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder is a product specifically developed for HPs. It is therefore not shared with DWP Case Managers, who make decisions on entitlement and mandatory reconsiderations, or Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), who handle appeals.

DWP Case Managers use the content within the assessment report provided by the HP, and any other available evidence, to make a decision for each claimant. However, HP advice is available throughout the process if a DWP Case Manager requires input following the initial assessment.

Answered by:
Chloe Smith (Conservative)
20 October 2021