Welfare Reform Bill

The point about the reassessment of claims before the appeal stage is important. One of the key issues, when we come on to talking about appeals, is that the department has been advised that it could be more vigorous about gathering information in advance of appeals. Guidance has been issued on that, in order to use all avenues to ensure that where new information becomes available following a decision, all opportunities for reassessment are taken in advance of appeals. Coming back to the timing of the provision of information, of course it is ideal to have as much information as possible before the assessment in Clauses 8 and 9 takes place. There are lots of reasons why information may not become available after a person has experienced incapacity. It may take some time for that person to adjust to their new situation. Lots of factors may influence what brings them to make a claim. The ideal is to have as much information as possible at the point of assessment, but where that information is not available, ideally it will come into the system as quickly as possible to avoid it becoming available only after a decision, when there would be a reassessment. The most important thing is that we encourage health professionals to understand the benefits to their patients of getting behind the flow of information and making it happen as quickly as possible. It is only by that engagement in the process and by making it as easy as possible for all the professionals involved, by the use of electronic media or simplified forms, that patients, who are customers in the benefits world, will be able to access benefits and support that, we hope, can make a real difference to their quality of life.