DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
e-mail
: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Our Ref: FOI2019/18600
FOI2019/18604
FOI2019/18609
06 June 2019
Dear Michael Newton,
Thank you for your three Freedom of Information (FoI) requests received on 15 May. Each
request is identical therefore I am providing one response to all three of the requests.
You asked:
When will the department for work and pensions employ medical professionals not
paramedics,nurses but surgeons ,consultants to carry out the ability of a claimant to work ? Or
receive PIP ?
Considering the number of claimants who have been wrongly told that they are fit for work had
their benefits stop or reduce only for the claimant to suffer .
DWP Response:
The FoI Act gives you a legal right of access to any recorded information held by a public
authority. We do not have to provide opinions or explanations, generate answers to questions,
or create or obtain information we do not hold.
If you ask a question, rather than requesting recorded information, we will provide you with the
recorded information that best answers the question. Once we have provided the recorded
information, we have met our obligations under the Act; interpreting the information provided is
up to you.
On this occasion you have asked a question, and as such we are responding to you outside of
the FoI Act. The assessment for PIP looks at an individual’s ability to carry out a series of key
everyday activities and the PIP assessor, who is a health professional (HP) with specialist
training in assessing the impact of disability, recommends which of the assessment criteria (set
out in legislation) they believe apply to the individual. The role of the HP differs from the
therapeutic role of the General Practitioner (GP) or consultant in reaching a diagnosis and/or
planning treatment. The assessment considers impact of a condition, and not diagnosis.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
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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-mailin
g freedom-of-information-
xxxxxxx@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. General y, 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
We
b: ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us or telephone 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745