Telephone, video, paper and face-to-face assessments
Will you have to have an assessment?
Most PIP claimants will have an assessment with a health professional as part of their PIP application process.
However, the DWP are trialling a system for deciding some fresh claims without an assessment.
The aim is to speed up decision making times and also to cut costs. Such a system already exists for PIP planned review claims.
As a result, DWP case managers may be able to make a decision on your fresh claim if it contains enough information, without the need for an assessment, although they may still consult a health professional themselves to get a second opinion on their conclusions.
There are no details yet about how cases are selected for a decision without an assessment, except that they must contain “sufficient evidence/information”.
It seems likely that the more detailed information you include in your PIP2 form, the better your chances of avoiding an assessment, if that is what you wish to do.
Who carries out PIP assessments?
The Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS) took over providing PIP assessments from Capita and Atos (IAS) on 7 September 2024.
HAAS is part of the DWP. It provides training, guidance and software for assessors. But the assessors themselves work for private sector companies. There are four companies involved in carrying out benefits assessments:
- Maximus cover Northern England and Scotland (though PIP has been replaced by ADP in Scotland and is not part of the contract)
- Capita cover the Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Serco cover South West England and South Central England
- Ingeus cover South East England, London and East Anglia
In addition, a small number of assessments are done directly by the DWP.
You can find a full list of all the postcodes and which HAAS provider covers them on the .gov.uk website
These private sector companies carry out all benefits assessments in their area, including both PIP assessments and Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) for universal credit and employment and support allowance.
The assessments remain entirely separate, however, there is no joint assessment that combines both PIP and the WCA at a single meeting.
Paper-based assessments
Unlike for ESA, the health professional can decide not to call you in even if they are going to assess you as scoring zero points. Guidance from the DWP states that paper based assessments are appropriate in:
Cases where the evidence indicates that it is unlikely that the claimant’s condition has any impact on any of the daily living and mobility activities.
Cases where the evidence indicates that the claimant’s condition has a significant impact in many of the daily living and mobility activities.
Cases where there is strong evidence on which to advise on the case and where a face-to-face consultation is likely to be stressful to the claimant.
The DWP will send all the papers relating to your PIP claim to HAAS, who will decide whether to carry out a paper or phone assessment.
Face-to-face assessments
Some claimants will have to attend a face-to-face assessment with an assessor working for HAAS.
You must be given 7 days’ notice of the date and time of the assessment and in the case of a face-to-face assessment where it will take place. The notice must be in writing unless you have agreed to accept communication by another means, such as text or email. The 7 days will not apply if you have agreed, in writing or otherwise, to accept a shorter notice period.
Video assessments
Currently there are very few of these, but they are increasing in number, perhaps because they are cheaper that face-to-face.
Clearly there are many technical issues with video communication, including the speed of your connection and whether you have a suitable smartphone or computer to take part in a video assessment. There are also all the issues of freezing, lag and drop-outs that may mean that video assessments are a poor option for you.
Telephone assessment
These are by far the most common type of assessment. There’s a great deal more information about them in our PIP claims guide for members.
The better prepared you are for your assessment, the more you will be able to concentrate on giving accurate, detailed evidence. The list below covers what we think are the main things you need to have for your assessment.
Private space. It can be hard to find somewhere quiet and undisturbed in your home for a call that could well last over an hour. But this really is essential if you are to give detailed and accurate evidence.
Your National insurance number: You may be asked for this as proof of ID. We had one member who had to go and find a letter with it on at the start of her assessment and was then grilled on where it was and how she had got there and back.
Letter with details of your assessment date and time. This should also have contact details of the assessment provider; you’ll need these if the call doesn’t come through or you get cut off and they don’t call back.
Copy of your PIP form. It's definitely worth looking through this before the assessment. Are there points you think it’s really important to make or things that you didn’t put in that you want to tell the health professional?
Bullet point list of the most important points you want the health professional to be aware of.
Notebook and pen, even if you are recording the assessment, it might be worth making notes if there is anything you are concerned about.
Phone with speakerphone. Around half of all telephone assessments last an hour or more, so it is definitely worth having speakerphone on if at all possible. Either use a landline or make sure your mobile battery is fully charged. If possible have it plugged in, because some mobile phones will not stay charged for a call lasting over an hour. Also try to be in the area of your house with the strongest signal, so you can clearly hear and be heard.
A separate phone on a different number, if possible. This will be useful if you need to call the assessment provider because the call has not come through. (See ‘No caller ID’ calls blocked, below).
Water. It’s going to be a long call and you are going to do a lot of talking.
Recording equipment. Whatever method you are using to record the assessment, if you are doing so, make sure it’s tried and tested.
List of medication and treatments. If there is an up-to-date list in your form, that’s fine, otherwise make sure you have one.
Last minute medical evidence. It’s not possible to show further written evidence at a telephone assessment, so if you haven’t already sent it in try to get the DWP address that you can post it to immediately after the call. If the evidence is very short, offer to read it out to the assessor or read out key points from longer evidence, but keep it short and relevant.
Review of your assessment type
You have the right to ask to have the type of assessment reviewed if you think it is the wrong one.
After you have completed the review process, even if you are not happy with the outcome, you must take part in the assessment or your claim will end.
