DWP issues update on PIP assessments with major 'new service' being developed

PIP is the main disability benefit for people under the state pension age with a long-term health condition in the UK and recently the DWP has updated its guidance on PIP assessments

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a major update on the assessment process for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The benefits department has recently updated its guidance on PIP assessments. PIP is the main disability benefit for people under the state pension age with a long-term health condition in the UK and currently, around three million people claim it. Your eligibility for the benefit - which you can claim if you are working or not - is based on how your condition affects your daily life, and not the condition itself.

This means to get it you will need to have a PIP assessment to decide if you can claim and this approach has received an immense amount of criticism since it was introduced. Charities and claimants have described the assessment process as being "put on trial" with many feeling the process is "daunting" and "dehumanising".

At PIP consultations, people are asked about their circumstances, health conditions, and disabilities, and how it impacts their lives. The assessment is not a medical examination, instead it is an opportunity for you to talk about how exactly your condition affects you personally. However, the DWP noted that a "physical examination" may be needed. It said: "The health professional may also carry out a short physical examination, but claimants will not be forced to do anything that causes them pain, embarrassment or discomfort."

In the updated guidance, the DWP promises it will look "at people as individuals" with a focus on how their condition impacts their "daily lives and over a range of different activities." The DWP also noted that it would continue to use written submissions and conversations over the phone for the majority of its assessments. However, warned that "some people will be asked to attend a face-to-face consultation".

The PIP update reiterated that all consultations would be carried out "by a health professional who considers the evidence provided by the claimant, along with any further evidence they think is needed." In regards to the experience of the health care professional, the DWP said that they would not need to have professional experience with the specific conditions faced by the claimants, stating: "We believe that in most cases all health professionals should be able to assess the individual, even if they are not a specialist in their condition." The DWP also added: "The assessor will be recruited for their empathy as well as medical qualifications."

However, the DWP reiterated that the health professional would not be making the final call on whether a person was entitled to PIP or not. The guidance wrote: "The health professional will complete the assessment and will send a report back to us. A DWP decision maker will then use all of this information to decide entitlement to PIP."

The guidance also noted that the face-to-face PIP assessments have "no time limit adding: "Consultations will be as long as necessary to reach the evidence-based conclusions on individual cases." Alongside this, the DWP noted that all claimants would be able to bring a companion along for a face-to-face PIP assessment and also see a same-sex assessor.

Overall, the PIP assessment process will be managed by four assessment providers which will focus on different regions of the UK, these include: "

• Maximus for Northern England and Scotland
• Capita for Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Serco for South West and South Central
• Ingeus for South East, London and East Anglia

Going forward, the DWP is also developing a new service, and in some areas, health assessments will be delivered directly by the benefits department itself. For now, this will be in some parts of the Midland and London. The DWP has not issued any further updates on this new service.