DWP appear to be introducing a four hour slot system for telephone assessments

Report from Benefits and Work:

Homelessness charity Groundswell have contacted us to warn that the DWP appear to be introducing a four hour slot system for telephone assessments, instead of giving a fixed-time appointment for a call.

Staff from the charity came across the practice in connection with a work capability assessment (WCA) for a universal credit applicant.

The 4 hour window raises huge problems for organisations who wish to provide a support worker to assist with giving evidence at the assessment, because few charities can afford to have a staff member sitting at a claimant’s home for up to four hours waiting for a call

In addition, the protracted wait is likely to cause enormous distress to some claimants, especially those who experience anxiety.

More info: https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/4439-four-hour-telephone-assessment-slots-misery

I had a 3 hour slot allocated for a telephone WCA the other week, between 1pm-4pm. As stated, it is going to be a nightmare to manage for support workers and the like if this becomes the norm.
Edit
Another one arrived today for a couple of weeks time - UC telephone WCA between 9am-12pm

It is not clear to me why it is considered necessary for the support worker to attend at the claimant’s home to give evidence for an assessment.

One of my clients asked me to “sit in” on his LCfW/WRA assessment, and I did so from the comfort of my own home.  It worked in exactly the same way that HMCTS manages to get multiple participants together for a telephone appeal hearing, and at no stage was my telephone number revealed to the client.