Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of assessment reports conducted by contractors for Scottish claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payments were carried out by a qualified doctor in each of the last four quarters for which information is available.

Justin Tomlinson

All health professionals (HPs) undertaking assessments on behalf of DWP must be registered practitioners (occupational therapist, nurse, doctor, physiotherapist and paramedic) who have also met requirements around training, post-qualification experience and competence.

The number and proportion of Employment and Support Allowance assessments completed in Scotland by a doctor was:

April to June 2015 – 2,342 (19.4%)

July to September 2015 – 2,239 (18.6%)

October to December 2015 – 2,254 (18.7%)

January to March 2016 – 1,969 (14.2%)

Personal Independence Payment assessments in Scotland were completed by occupational therapists, nurses, physiotherapists and paramedics rather than doctors.