The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has agreed that Disabled people will be allowed to record their assessments for Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
Responding in a letter to the Right to Record action group of Disabled campaigners in Barking and Dagenham, the DWP said that audio recording should be available when face-to-face PIP assessments resume after the pandemic. People being assessed will have to request that the assessment is recorded. Recording will not be automatic.
In the letter, the DWP said: “We have recently started working with both assessment providers [Capita and Atos]… to find a suitable method of audio recording which we hope to have in place with the reintroduction of face-to-face assessments.
“This will remove the need for claimants to source a device which meets the required specifications to bring to their assessment, as the assessment provider will record the assessment on the claimant’s behalf.”
It adds that audio recording of telephone PIP assessments has been available for some people through Atos since 21 September 2020 and through Capita since 30 November 2020.
DR UK’s Fazilet Hadi said: “This move will help claimants ensure that what they have said has been accurately recorded and taken into account. Over half of claimants who need to go to Tribunal win their cases. This move will help those who have to go to Tribunal to be able to present solid evidence to support their claims, and hopefully reduce the numbers of Tribunals that claimants have to go through.”