To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 27 of Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, what conditions the proposed specialist advisors will cover; and what will be included as part of the training in conditions.
Answered on
19 April 2023
The White Paper sets out ambitious and extensive reforms to ensure that disabled people have the right support, opportunities and incentives to move into, and remain in, work. We will transform the benefits system for the future, so that it focuses on what people can do rather than what they cannot, and ensure people can access the right support at the right time and have a better overall experience when applying for, and receiving, health and disability benefits.
The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) will enable the delivery of White Paper proposals. We will continue to invest in developing our assessors’ skills. The Specialist Assessors is one of a number of proposed initiatives we will be exploring. This year, we will begin testing matching people’s primary health condition to a specialist assessor. As part of this, assessors will take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions.
HTP is transforming our health assessment service carefully and incrementally. We are exploring different options and testing as we go to ensure the new service meets the needs of claimants, including the need for specialist assessors.
All our test and learn activity will be planned and prioritised to ensure we learn the right things at the right time, to deliver the best outcomes for claimants.