Changes are on the horizon for how Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Work Capability Assessments (WCA) are delivered for individuals residing in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland starting next month. WCAs are managed by Maximus while PIP assessments are handled by Atos (also known as IAS) and Capita, with Atos holding a larger portion of the PIP contracts. During last year’s contract bidding for regional assessments, the DWP confirmed that the contracts would be active from 2024 to 2029.

If you have a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment scheduled in the coming months, you can request an audio recording of it (Image: PA)

Contracts for Functional Assessment Services are slated to replace both PIP contracts and contracts for carrying out WCAs for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit. This means the same company will conduct both types of assessment in any given regional area.

This is part of the Health Transformation programme which proposes having a single assessment approach for all benefits that use a functional health assessment, reports the Daily Record.

If you are due a PIP or WCA assessment from September, it will be conducted by the following company:

If you are due a PIP or WCA assessment from September, it will be conducted by the following company:

• Scotland and North England: Maximus UK Services Limited (currently Atos)
• Midlands and Wales: Capita Business Services (currently Capita)
• South West England: Serco (currently Atos)
• South East England, London and East Anglia: Ingeus UK Limited (currently Atos)
• Northern Ireland: Capita Business Services (currently Capita)

Last year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed plans to transition to a new telephony platform in 2024 and enhance the Video Assessment application, enabling all disability health benefit consultations to be recorded. However, this recommendation has not yet been implemented.

If you have a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment scheduled in the coming months, you can request an audio recording of it, but you must inform the DWP prior to the consultation date.

A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request discovered that from the beginning of this year until the end of June, approximately 1,192 (1.4%) of PIP assessments were audio-recorded by Capita.

Similarly, the DWP confirmed that 366 (0.17%) PIP assessments were audio-recorded by IAS during the same timeframe. However, the DWP clarified that the data provided is sourced from management information produced by the assessment providers. It added: “This information is collected for internal use only and therefore has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.”

Last month, the DWP confirmed that 500 PIP ‘light touch’ reviews conducted since August 2023 did not require an assessment by a health professional.

The DWP confirmed that 508 out of 521 PIP light touch reviews were completed without an assessment, equivalent to 97 per cent. It’s also worth noting that only three reviews led to a reduction in PIP entitlement – two were reduced and one was disallowed.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) earlier confirmed that “most cases” of people approaching the end of their 10-year Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award will no longer necessitate face-to-face assessments.

This policy shift trails the roll-out of a streamlined PIP review form targeting individuals with ‘light-touch’ awards, usually spanning five to ten years.