Parliamentary inquiry into ESA and PIP assessments

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if any advisers/organisations will be sending submissions for the Committee for Work and Pensions inquiry into the assessment process for ESA and PIP, due to the very high success rate of tribunal appeals? The deadline is this Friday (link re: the inquiry below), and it seems as good opportunity as any to outline the various flaws within these assessment processes.

I’ve concentrated on the ESA assessment process mostly, and have recommended a review to bring the ESA50 into line with the actual statutory tests for ESA, not relying on a ‘snapshot’ of the claimant’s day, a review of the training and experience of contracted assessors, ensuring adequate training for assessors particularly regarding mental health conditions, publishing the DWP’s policy on interpreting (lots of my clients don’t have English as their first language and end up with no interpreter at the assessment). I was wondering if anyone was else was submitting something by this Friday, and if there are any glaringly obvious recommendations I have missed out? 

Thanks!

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/pip-esa-assessments-17-19/

Hoping to but it‘s competing with case work with deadlines attached so who knows.

Having a massive mental blank here. Anybody got the email address to which these should be sent?

Thanks in advance.

Mike Hughes - 10 November 2017 02:28 PM

Having a massive mental blank here. Anybody got the email address to which these should be sent?

Thanks in advance.

Submit it to the portal

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/pip-esa-assessments-17-19/

That’s the bit I’m blanking on. Where’s the email address or indeed any address on that page?

Here you go Mike.

Telephone: 020 7219 8976
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Contact us - Work and Pensions Committee

Thank you. Was that actually on the web page?

No it wasn’t.

Relieved to hear that. Potentially very important inquiry and I thought I was imagining things when I couldn’t see how to contact them.

Sort of thing they’d be pleased to criticise DWP on.

Good to see some familiar organisation names on there - and I particularly enjoyed yours Mike.
https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/pip-esa-assessments-17-19/publications/

Too punchy? Usually secures me the invite to speak face to face which some people seem to live in fear of. Had I more time I would have also commented on the need to record assessments; the fact that assessors could easily be prevented from pre-population through being prevented from accessing the blank report until the assessment is noted as started and doubtless much else too. However, it always strikes me that it’s about time we sat in front of politicians and said unequivocally that what is going on is simply not fit for purpose in many respects.

I also think that in some respects, and this is a very difficult area, it is a mistake (and possibly plain wrong) to emphasise repeatedly that the group which suffer the most are those with mental health issues. They tend to get treated as an exception and thus if politicians hear that steps have been taken to deal with that tricky exception then they assume all else is rosy in the garden. I think it’s about time we spelt out that poor processes impact across the board regardless of impairment.

Good to see familiar names as you say. Always wince when I read mine back as the way my eyes work mean it’s completely random as to whether I see typos or not regardless of when I read it. Coming back to it now I am horrified by the errors.

After 7 statutory Independent Reports and numerous other previous enquiries including by the work & pensions committee and SSAC is there really anything new to say? Do we anticipate this enquiry will make any greater difference than all the other?

I think it’s about momentum really (not a capital M). More and more pressure being exerted in more and different ways. Change always comes about in the oddest most unexpected ways.

The face-to-face evidence given to the Committee is here: http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/work-and-pensions-committee/pip-and-esa-assessments/oral/74498.pdf
There were apparently 450 written submissions and 2,800+ web-forum responses all saying roughly the same things. There are some truly shocking examples in there, for example someone was asked how long they had had Downs Syndrome and how it was caught.
Hopefully the Select Committee read all of them and not just a random selection.
I think the DWP / ATOS etc are due to give their oral evidence on the 6th December.