North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has asked Ministers to look at what more can be done to increase access to relevant medical evidence to improve the accuracy of Personal Independence Payment and Employment & Support Allowance assessments.
While an increasingly high percentage of assessments for these benefits deliver an accurate result first time, it is also often the case that unsuccessful applications are overturned when the applicant provides late additional evidence. This can be because an individual forgets a specific issue or is unaware of what their medical record says.
During his time as the Minister for Disabled People, Justin worked closely with charities, stakeholder and claimants to improve the accuracy of assessments and began work on providing assessors with direct access to a person's medical records, with their consent, in order to deliver the best outcome of the applicants.
David Gauke, the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, confirmed that the Department is continuing this work.
Text of Justin’s question, and the Minister’s reply.
Justin Tomlinson: The vast majority of successful appeals are successful because of late additional evidence. What further consideration has been given to sharing data between the two different assessments and to providing for automatic access to health records—where the claimant is willing—in advance of an assessment?
David Gauke (Secretary of State for Work & Pensions): My hon. Friend raises an important point and is absolutely right about the reason for the majority of overturned decisions. We continually look at how to increase co-ordination between the PIP and employment and support allowance assessment processes, and that is certainly something we are considering.
