All assessment providers are required to ensure that all health professionals (HP) carrying out assessments have sufficient training and knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely overall functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments.<\/p>
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To ensure a high standard is maintained the department has an Independent Audit function that continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers. Audit refers to a comprehensive check of the elements of the assessment, including the evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the assessment report completed by the HP. The check is completed against a set of guidelines to ensure a consistent approach is taken. This ensures that assessment reports are fit for purpose, clinically justified and sound, and provide sufficient information for the department to make an informed decision on entitlement to benefit.<\/p>
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Providers work with the department to continuously improve assessment quality through a range of measures including audit procedures. We also measure the adequacy of HP training through customer satisfaction surveys undertaken by independent third parties. All providers have consistently exceeded their customer satisfaction targets of 90% for Personal Independence Payment and 92% for the Work Capability Assessment.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4369", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Tom Pursglove"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Corby"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Tom Pursglove"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-12-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-12-13T12:31:00.69Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-12-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of training provided to assessors who consider Personal Independence Payments and the Work Capability Assessments for disabled claimants.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4638", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Slough"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi"} ], "uin" : "106417"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1542986", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1542986/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The information requested is not available. We have a stringent performance management regime which includes Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) performance managers attending assessment centres; however, data for such visits is not retained.<\/p>
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Provider performance is measured across a range of service level agreements setting out the department's expectations for service delivery. These include quality, performance delivery targets and customer experience.<\/p>
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Independent Audit is one of the department\u2019s tools to measure quality for performance management purposes. It is a self-contained team comprising of experienced health professional assessors who review a sample of assessment reports on a monthly basis to determine their quality. This helps ensure that assessment reports are fit for purpose, clinically justified, and provide sufficient information for the department to make a reasonable decision on entitlement to benefit. It is not an audit of the assessment provider as a whole.<\/p>
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<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4369", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Tom Pursglove"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Corby"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Tom Pursglove"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-11-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-11-21T17:08:36.137Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-11-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Answer of 7 November 2022 to Question 80819, how many times his Department visited assessment centres to help audit the performance of providers in each year from 2015 to 2022.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4515", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kate Osamor"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Edmonton"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Kate Osamor"} ], "uin" : "88965"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1542987", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1542987/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We currently have no plans to publish the last audit results for Capita and Independent Assessment Services (IAS).<\/p>
Referring to our previous answer to PQ80819, audit refers to a comprehensive check of the elements of the assessment, including the evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the assessment report completed by the health professional. It is not an audit of the assessment provider.<\/p>
Provider performance is measured across a range of service level agreements (SLA) setting out the department's expectations for service delivery. These include quality, performance delivery targets and customer experience.<\/p>