Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Central Freedom of Information Team
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Our reference: FoI 3096
Date: 21 September 2016
Dear Mr Williams,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received on 02
September 2016. You asked:
“Please send me any internal guidance/operational instructions issued to
Decision Makers or DWP staff, which is not available as part of the Decision
Maker's Guide or Advice for Decision Makers and which concerns when good
cause for failing to attend a medical examination should be accepted and/or
how this should be considered.
In particular please send me any guidance on how such staff should deal with
repeat failures to attend medical examinations.
In a number of cases I have now seen submissions to appeal tribunals or
other correspondence with claimants which asserts that good cause will only
be accepted on a second or subsequent occasion if there is specific medical
evidence that the claimant was unable to attend on the particular day of the
appointment. Please send me any operational instructions that have been
issued on that particular point.
Please send me any template submissions which are used for appeal
tribunals on cases involving failure to attend a medical assessment and which
are not publicly available.”
DWP Response:
Whilst not being able to comment on individual appeal tribunal submissions,
all guidance for Decision Makers is contained in the Decision Maker’s Guide
or within Memos which are available on the Gov.uk website.
For the memo’s they can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decision-makers-guide-memos-
staff-guide
For the main guide:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/decision-makers-guide-staff-guide
There are no specific templates to cover Good Cause. Every assessment
appointment not attended, including the first one is considered against the
criteria set out in the Decision Makers Guide.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the
reference number above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx or by writing to: DWP, Central FoI Team,
Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any review request should be submitted within two
months of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a
decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF
www.ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us or telephone 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745