20 February 2024 , 10:56
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shared a new update about Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments.
Over 3.4 million people in Great Britain are currently receiving between £26.90 and £172.75 each week through PIP. As part of the application process, you'll have an assessment with a health professional who will write a report for the DWP. This assessment is your chance to explain how your condition affects your daily life. It's not about diagnosing your condition or giving you a medical exam. The DWP will use the information from your assessment to decide if you should get PIP.
But did you know that the type of assessment you have is decided before you're invited to one? This could be face-to-face, a video call, over the phone, or paper-based. The DWP chooses the type that's best for you.
In fact, the DWP said in a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request: "Before an invitation to an assessment is sent, it will be determined which assessment channel, i.e. face-to-face, video or audio, is suitable for the claimant. Consideration will be given to claimants who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances. Claimants who can undertake any assessment type will be allocated to the next available appointment."
The DWP response also explained that people joining a video assessment "have the option to disable their camera at any point during the assessment, and they would then be informed that the assessment will continue as a telephone assessment". However, it added that if someone feels that a video assessment is "unsuitable for them" they should make contact with the provider ahead of the assessment to inform them that a "reasonable adjustment is appropriate, and a change to the preferred channel will be made where possible".
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The DWP said that it is "committed to enabling a multi-channel assessment approach and believes that face-to-face, telephone and video assessments are an important part of the assessment process for most individuals, allowing an in-depth look at their circumstances, but they are not appropriate in every case".
Not all PIP claimants will need to attend an assessment, the DWP explained: "Where there is sufficient evidence on which to make an assessment, the individual will not be required to attend an assessment, their entitlement will be assessed on a paper basis." However, the department clarified: "These decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, as impairments can affect people in very different ways. In the circumstances that a paper-based review is not possible the claimant will be invited to an assessment."