https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/4212-minister-confirms-right-to-have-someone-join-you-for-pip-assessment-callMinister confirms right to have someone join you for PIP assessment call
Category: Latest news
Created: 24 April 2020
Justin Tomlinson, minister for disabled people, confirmed yesterday that PIP claimants have a right to have someone else take part in their PIP telephone assessment. This is in spite of some Benefits and Work members being told that no-one else could help them give evidence.
Tomlinson told the work and pensions committee on 23 April, 2020:
“If you are having a telephone assessment, we are allowing your friend, family, trusted partner to be part of that process which is something we introduced a few years ago for face-to-face assessments which has made a huge difference to the quality of the outcome of the assessments.â€
Yet, we have heard from members who have not been told that someone else can be involved or have even been refused permission to have someone else take part:
“My partner has a telephone assessment on Thursday. Told him it could last for I hour .He has copd and heart problems. I asked could I speak for him as he gets very breathless they said no he has to speak himself.â€
We will be updating our PIP claims guide to include this quote from the minister.
You can watch the committee session on parliament TV.
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/86ed5d4f-9daf-40b0-9b97-384ddc6cc897?in=10:35:21
