Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Rix (Crossbench). It was answered on Monday, 12 September 2011.

Autism: Personal Independence Payments

Question: My Lords, what assurance can the Minister give that problems similar to those that have arisen on work capability assessments will not arise on PIP assessments, particularly in the light of people who take these assessments with a learning disability?

Answer: My Lords, clearly this is a different assessment that measures different things. However, we are learning lessons from the WCA, and noble Lords will know that we are making considerable changes to it to make sure that it works as effectively as possible. We also expect to make sure that the personal independence payment is focused on the needs of the individual. The assessment is much more appropriate than the DLA assessment, which is, frankly, subjective and inconsistent and relies much too much on self-assessment.

Secondary information