Independent Assessment Services - Protocols

RUTH BARTLETT made this Freedom of Information request to Department for Work and Pensions Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was successful.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

I would like to receive all medical protocols used by DWP and IAS when assessing PIP claimants with the following conditions:

ADHD
Autism
OCD
Dyspraxia

I would also like to receive any relevant training materials used by DWP and IAS in relation to the above conditions.

Yours faithfully,

RUTH BARTLETT

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freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gov.uk,

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Dear Ruth Bartlett,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 20th
April.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Work and Pensions's handling of my FOI request 'Independent Assessment Services - Protocols'.

I am requesting an internal review of my request. If the exemption is upheld, please provide details of the public interest test and how its conclusion was arrived at.

In your letter you confirm that the CIS reports do not contain any information about ADHD. Given the miscategorisation of ADHD as a "behavioural condition" in your Assessor Guidance, the lack of consultation of ADHD charities during the design of PIP, the compexities of this invisible disability, the socio-economic impact of ADHD and the increase in numbers of people with a late diagnosis, the lack of access to support and the stigma around the condition, I argue that disclosure is in the public interest.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...

Yours faithfully,

RUTH BARTLETT

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

Thank you for contacting the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
 
This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been received by the DWP Freedom of Information mailbox and will be
processed accordingly.
 
Please note that this mailbox is for Freedom of Information (FOI) or
Internal Review (IR) requests only – If you have submitted a non FOI or IR
related email then we may not be able to action it.
 
 
Timescales for responding
 
Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests
 
If your email is a valid FOI request, as per Section 8 of the FOI Act
2000, you can normally expect a response within 20 working days.
 
Internal Review (IR) Requests
 
You can normally expect a response within 20 working days.
 
We will respond to all valid FOI and IR requests within our statutory
timescales, if we are unable to do so then we will contact you to explain
why. Please note that we are not able to process your FOI or IR request in
any shorter timescales that you may indicate.
 
 
Receiving a response from us
 
Please note that email FOI and IR responses will be issued from
[email address]
 
We recommend that you add this address to your email contacts otherwise
the response may be treated as Spam or Junk by your email account
provider.  
 
 
Further Information
 
Should you have any further queries in connection with your FOI or IR
request please contact us.
 
More information on the DWP can be accessed on gov.uk here –
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
 

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References

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freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gov.uk,

1 Attachment

Dear Ruth Bartlett,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 18th
May.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

RUTH BARTLETT left an annotation ()

SUPPORTING LETTER ATTACHED TO COMPLAINT TO INFORMATION COMMISSIONNER

RUTH BARTLETT
25/06/2023
Department for Work and Pensions's
handling of my FOI request
'Independent Assessment Services -
Protocols' FOI2023/31180 1
Background
I am 46 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD in May 2022. In December 2022 I applied for
Personal Independence Payment so that I could get some practical support.
My claim was rejected by DWP on the basis I have no "cognitive impairment". Under DWP's
Orwellian rules I was only allowed to submit evidence about how ADHD affects me, not about the
condition itself. I found this ignorance deeply concerning, particularly given the issues that had
arisen for me durin the application process, where it was clear that the assessor knew nothin
about my condition. These issues included:
● Bein refused reasonable adjustments and additional support
● Being asked discriminatory questions at assessment 2
● Bias in the assessor report 3 including evidence that the decision was based on , informal
observations, my education level, my self-awareness and my politeness.
1 All correspondence can be viewed here: "RUTH BARTLETT - Freedom of Information requests".
06 06 2023, https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/ruth.... Accessed 25 06, 2023.
I have become aware of similar stories 4 from others with ADHD, particularly women.
have sinc I e tried to ascertain what information is available to assessors through FOI requests
and letters to my MP. I've also reached out to a number of experts who share my concerns.
DWP: Misinformed about ADHD
There is no evidence that any efforts have were made to consult ADHD charities when designing
PIP 6 7
ADHD is incorrectly classified in DWP's assessor manual as a "behvioural condition" 8 (autism is
classified as "neurodevelopmental disorder) 9.
ADHD is not included in the IAS Condition Insight Report, the primary resource used by assessors
4
https://www.reddit.com/r/DWPhelp/comment...
d_for_pip_and/
5 "RUTH BARTLETT Freedom of Information requests" 06 06 2023,
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/user/ruth.... Accessed 25 06, 2023.
6"Disability Livin Allowance reform consultation responses" n d Accessed 06 25, 2023
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
responses.
7 Topping, Alexandra. 01 13, 2023 "ADHD services ‘swamped’, say experts as more UK women seek
dia nosis" The Guardian (N p ), 01 13, 2023
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023...
uk-women-seek-diagnosis (Accessed 06 25, 2023).
8 "1.12.6 Examples of Health Conditions". n.d. Assessor Guide. Accessed 06 25, 2023.
https //acrobat adobe com/link/review?uri urn aaid scds US 288d20f4 c8a3 36ce b78f
2429710ce462.
9 "Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment guide for assessment providers". 04 03, 2023.
Accessed 06 25, 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers.
and decision-makers to gain insight into various disabilities 10 .
ADHD is barely mentioned in DWP's "neurodiversity toolkit" (autism has a dedicated page) 11
Women with ADHD are absent from DWP materials (and many other sources they have cited).
Even their response to my FOI request about this referred almost exclusively to autism.
Why this matters?
● ADHD qualifies as a disability under the UK Equality Act 2010 [196], because it can have a
substantial and long-term impact on a person’s ability to perform day- to-day activities.
● According to Dr Tony Lloyd, the chief executive of the ADHD foundation, there has been a
400% increase in the number of adults seeking a diagnosis since 2020. 12
● People with ADHD are at increased risk for low quality of life, substance use disorders,
accidental injuries, educational underachievement, unemployment, gambling, teenage
pregnancy, difficulties socializing, delinquency, suicide, and premature death.
● A nationwide cohort study of over 750,000 Scottish school children using linked national
registers identified those who had been prescribed medicine for ADHD. Even while
receiving medication, these children were more than three times as likely as typically
developing peers to have low educational achievement, more than twice as likely to drop
out of school before age 16, more than eight times as likely to have a record of special
educational needs, 50 % more likely to get injured, and 40 % more likely to be unemployed.
These results were adjusted for socioeconomic confounders and other psychiatric
conditions 13
● Workers with ADHD had an average 8.4 excess sickness absence days per year and even
10 "IAS CONDITION INSIGHT REPORT". 10 03, 2020. www.whatdotheyknow.com. Accessed 06
25, 2023.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/6...
%20ATOS%20IAS%20Insight%20e%20Report%20Item%2010%20v2%20SW%201.pdf.html.
11 "Autism and Neurodiversity Toolkit DWP". n.d. Accessed 06 25, 2023.
https://www.autismandneurodiversitytoolk....
12 Topping, Alexandra. "ADHD services ‘swamped’, say experts as more UK women seek diagnosis".
The Guardian, 13 01 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023...
say-experts-as-more-uk-women-seek-diagnosis. Accessed 25 06, 2023.
13 Faraone, Stephen V., et al. "The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement:
208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 128
(09): 789–818.
hi her annualised avera e excess numbers of work days associated with reduced work
quantity (21.7 days) and quality (13.6 days) 14
Misinformed professionals, sensastionalist headlines and gender
bias
"Some<professionals> continue to express fears about treating a ‘non-existent disease’ or causing
dru addiction with stimulant edication, despite evidence to the contrar The reasons for this are
likely to be based on the historical perception of ADHD as a disorder that is restricted to childhood
and the continued presence of stigma and clinical mythology that surrounds the disorder and its
treatment; and the traditional separation of adult from child psychiatry" 15
"Females with ADHD remain more likely to be unrecognised or mis-identified leading to lower
than expected rates of referral, assessment and treatment for ADHD.There are specific barriers
that seem to hinder the recognition of ADHD in girls and women. These include symptomatic
differences, ender biases due to stereotypical expectations, comorbidities and compensatory
functions, which mask or overshadow the effects of ADHD symptoms. There is strong public
perception that ADHD is a behavioural disorder that primarily affects males...The current health
and social care system appears to be better geared toward identifying and treating ADHD
presentin alon side behavioural and externalisin problems, in particular those that present as
overt, disruptive and aggressive in nature, and are more commonly seen in boys and men." 16
14Adamou, Marios, Blanca Bolea, Mark Pitts, Anne Halmøy, Anna Trakoli, David Coghill, Ulrich
Müller, Nerys Williams, Susan Young, Paul Hodgkins, Philip Asherson, Tar-Ching Aw,
Muhammad Arif, and Gísli Guðjónsson. 2013. "Occupational issues of adults with ADHD". BMC
Psychiatry 13, no 1 (12)
15 Young, Susan, and hyperref, LaTeX with. "Failure of Healthcare Provision for Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in the United Kingdom: A Consensus Statement". 2021.
16oung, Susan, et al. 2020. "Females with ADHD: An expert consensus statement taking a lifespan
approach providing guidance for the identification and treatment of attention-deficit/
hyperactivity disorder in girls and women". BMC Psychiatry. 20, no. 1 (12)


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freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gov.uk,

2 Attachments

Dear Ruth Bartlett,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 18th
May.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

freedom-of-information-request@dwp.gov.uk,

7 Attachments

Dear Ruth Bartlett,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 18th
May. This is a revised response following a further review.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team