PIP should be administered and decided by the NHS, not the DWP/contracting firms

Currently the DWP handles the deliberation of PIP and ESA. Disability is a state of being dealing with health, not work and pensions. The decisions for any disability related payments or dictates should be handled by the government's experts (i.e. health professionals) in the NHS, not DWP.

In August this year the UN criticised the UK government for its treatment of people with disability and stripping people of their livelihoods, dignity and being. This has led to an increase of post-decision making unexplained deaths of people with disabilities. The DWP is not concerned with helping people or listening to experts on health related issues with relying on 'for profit' companies making decisions on people with disabilities. The NHS needs to be the decision making body for PIP.

The Government is absolutely committed to supporting disabled people and determined that support should be focused on people who need it most. We want to enable disabled people to have the same opportunities and choices as non-disabled people. We are also committed to ensuring those with health conditions and disabilities are assessed fairly for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) to ensure they receive the right level of support.

PIP, which can be paid at one of eight rates, provides a non-contributory, non means-tested, tax free contribution towards the extra costs that people with long-term health conditions and disabilities face and is based on the impact of conditions and impairments on individuals’ everyday lives.

ESA provides financial support to those that face barriers to work. The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) for ESA focuses on the functional capability of claimants to work and on the impact of mental health conditions on functional capability. The premise of the WCA is that eligibility for benefits should not be based on a person’s condition, but rather on the way that condition limits their ability to function.

The assessments for both PIP and ESA were developed using multi-layered processes involving disabled people, representatives of disabled people and health professionals. Individual disability assessments are carried out by suitably trained Healthcare Professionals working within a quality assured, managed environment. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set clear requirements on the professions, skills, experience and training of the Healthcare Professionals that our assessment providers can use to carry out PIP and ESA assessments and all are registered with an appropriate professional body such as the General Medical Council (GMC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).