The Countess of Mar, chairman of the Forward ME Group of charities, tabled a question that asked the Government who was the author of the material on chronic fatigue syndrome issued by Capita for training purposes under its responsibilities as a personal independence payment assessor under chapter 4.2 of the Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide?
Her question was answered by the Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord Freud, in a written reply on 1 July 2013. He wrote:
Capita have produced the training material for their health professionals undertaking PIP assessments. It was developed in-house by qualified doctors, in line with current clinical guidelines, and includes some condition-specific information such as the material on chronic fatigue syndrome. This material forms part of an overall training package, approved by DWP, which builds on health professionals’ existing knowledge. This enables them to consider an individual's claim against the PIP assessment criteria and produce a holistic assessment of how their health condition or impairment impacts upon daily living and mobility.
We've not had this confirmed but we believe this is document referred to:
The link provided is not for the training materials, the PIP Assessment guide is equivalent to the WCA Handbook for ESA and defines the assessment criteria to be used for each descriptor.
Thanks, Stephen
Obviously, I need to do a little bit more work on this story. I will try and make contact with the Countess.