Research and analysis

Summary: Claimant views on ways to improve PIP and ESA questionnaires

Published 20 July 2021

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Executive summary

In response to recommendations made by the Work and Pensions Select Committee, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned research to explore claimant experiences of claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and, more specifically, to obtain their views on how the questionnaires used as part of the respective benefits’ assessment processes, could be made more user-friendly and “less distressing” for claimants.

The research involved an initial phase of focus groups and in-depth interviews with PIP and ESA claimants to explore their experiences of completing the questionnaires and their suggestions for making the questionnaires more user-friendly. Following a workshop with DWP colleagues to discuss potential solutions to the issues raised by claimants, a further round of focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with PIP claimants, to explore claimant’s views on some additional information that might be provided along with the PIP questionnaire. These focused on whether any of this additional information might have helped to address claimants’ concerns about the assessment process.

PIP and ESA claimant preferences and suggestions for questionnaires

PIP and ESA claimants commonly described the experience of completing the assessment questionnaires in a negative light. They felt that the questionnaires forced them to focus on their worst experiences and lowest points. Both PIP and ESA claimants felt that they struggled to know what information DWP was looking for, as they felt the basis of how PIP and ESA was awarded was not made clear. This left them feeling anxious about what information to include. PIP claimants felt strongly that there was a lack of transparency from DWP on how the benefit is awarded.

PIP and ESA claimants suggested improvements, including: more routing within the questionnaires or separate questionnaires for different conditions or disabilities, this would provide greater clarity on which questions they need to answer; an option to complete online, which would enable claimants to complete the questionnaire in stages and assist those that struggled with physically writing answers into the open text boxes; and extending the deadline to six weeks, to allow more time for gathering evidence and/or accessing support to fill the questionnaire in.

PIP claimant views on additional information being included with the PIP questionnaire

Additional information was shown to PIP claimants during the final stage of the research. They were shown a seven-page document that provided more information on the assessment process, how points are awarded and what is involved in the face-to-face assessment.

For some claimants the additional information was felt to be of practical value, even when claimants felt uncomfortable that the assessment process involved a points-based system. Therefore, the research suggests that including this information within the PIP application pack could be helpful. Directly addressing concerns regarding the points-based system by adding some further explanation could also, potentially, add value.

There were some claimants that were more positive about and keener to receive this additional information, but they commonly reported having been able to cope quite well with the questionnaire already. This suggests that the additional information may not have as much impact on those that require the most support.

Even once PIP claimants had reviewed this additional information, strong concerns remained around whether the ‘How your disability affects you’ questionnaire captures the full and complex impacts of certain health conditions and disabilities. It was clear that claimants did not feel that this additional information had addressed this key concern and therefore it would have a limited impact on reducing levels of anxiety amongst claimants.