DWP Telephone Assessments | National Centre for Social Research (2024)

FAQs

Are DWP doing phone assessments? ›

In some cases, we can carry out an assessment just from the information you have sent to DWP. However, most people will need to have a face-to-face, telephone or video assessment. To get a fuller picture of how your health condition affects you, we may seek additional information by contacting those who support you.

These general PIP assessment tips will also help you: Don't let the assessor rush you. Try not to just answer 'yes' or 'no' to the questions. Always explain how doing something would make you feel afterwards and the impact it can have on you if you had to do it repeatedly in a short period.

After looking at your ID to make sure that you are who you say you are, they will ask about each of your medical conditions. They will want to know how long you have had it, who diagnosed it, who manages it now, what the symptoms are and what variation there is in how it affects you.

Eight weeks is an approximate time frame. You may hear earlier, you may hear at exactly the eight-week mark, or it may be even longer. There won't be any more assessments. If the DWP requires any further information - eg from the GP - they will contact them.

A DWP compliance interview, also referred to as a customer compliance interview, is a procedure undertaken by the DWP where they have reason to suspect that you are claiming a benefit that you are not entitled to, or if they suspect that your personal circ*mstances have changed but that you have not notified them of ...

It is a conversation with a health professional that lasts about 1 hour. At your assessment, the health professional will talk to you about the information on your form. They will ask about how your long- term health condition or disability affects you day-to-day. You can tell them about this in your own words.

In the comments box you need to express yourself concisely and without room for interpretation. If your back hurts, for example, say 'my back hurts 4 days a week' but do not say 'my back hurts sometimes' or 'my back hurts often'. Words such as 'sometimes' and 'often' are open to interpretation.

There's no set list of medical conditions that make you eligible for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in the UK.

The purpose of the phone call is to ensure the claimant understands the reason why PIP has not been awarded or has been awarded at a lower rate and to answer any questions or concerns that the claimant may have about the decision.

“Trick” Questions to Watch Out For

For instance, if an assessor asks about your ability to go out, they're not just asking if you can leave the house—they want to know about the planning it requires, the physical toll, and how it affects you afterward.

What are the 14 PIP questions? ›

You can request the PIP assessment report (PA4) forty eight hours after your assessment has taken place. Just ring and ask for a copy. If someone says no - just ring off and ring again.

PIP success rates after a telephone assessment averaged a success rate for new claims is just 48.5% in the last 6 months.

Psychiatric disorders

With 37% of people receiving PIP having a psychiatric disorder, it is the most common condition people receiving PIP claim for. Psychiatric disorders are mental health conditions that can affect how a person thinks and feels about themselves and/or the world around them.

In a scenario where a claimant has not been awarded the requisite minimum 15 points required for an ESA award, after a F2F assessment, the DWP DM's do contact claimants by telephone to see whether there is any further evidence that the claimant can provide to persuade the DM that they should indeed be awarded ESA.

Face-to-face assessments were resumed in May 2021, and they now take place alongside paper-based assessments (whenever possible), telephone assessments and a small number of video assessments.

The assessment can take place over the phone or by video, or face-to-face at an assessment centre. The healthcare professional should have read a copy of the capability for work questionnaire that you completed.

At the time of extracting the survey sample, just over half (51 per cent) had been awarded PIP , 34 per cent had been disallowed and a further 16 per cent had no outcome to date, although some of this latter group may have been informed of a decision by the time of their survey interview.

Why You Might Be Awarded PIP Without an Assessment. Sufficient Evidence Provided: Your application and supporting documents clearly outline how your condition affects your daily life and mobility. Check your State Pension age on GOV.UK.