PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis (29 October 2015)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the Multiple Sclerosis Society's recent findings that 36 per cent of people with multiple sclerosis surveyed who had had a PIP face-to-face assessment declared that it had caused their condition to deteriorate or relapse.

Asked by:
Sir Nicholas Dakin (Labour)

We have made it clear that when attending a face-to-face consultation, claimants can bring someone with them in order to support them or help them manage any anxiety they may feel. In some cases assessment providers will also carry out consultations in claimants’ homes.

Assessments for PIP are carried out by qualified health professionals who have broad training in assessing the impacts of a variety of disabilities, including fluctuating conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis. Before claimants are invited for a face-to-face consultation, all of the evidence held is reviewed and if, at that stage, a decision can be made on the paper evidence alone, then claimants will not be required to attend a face-to-face consultation.

Answered by:
Justin Tomlinson (Conservative)
3 November 2015