Northern Ireland Personal Independence Payment Review

PIP - The Department for Communities has appointed Ms Marie Cavanagh to carry out the second independent statutory Review of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment.

The Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 states that the Department must lay before the Assembly an independent review of the operation of PIP assessments within two years of go live and a second review within four years.  PIP was first introduced in June 2016.

The Department laid the first independent review to the Assembly in June 2018.  The second independent review should be laid before 20 June 2020.   

The review will provide the Department for Communities with a second independent report:

• evaluating the progress made on recommendations arising from the first review.
• evaluating awareness and experience of the PIP assessment process for new applications, award reviews and people reporting changes. 
• evaluate the process to ensure the most appropriate assessment type is selected - paper-based reviews, face to face at the assessment centre or the home.
• evaluation of the effectiveness of the arrangements for ensuring accurate reports are produced.
• evaluate how effectively further evidence is being used to assist the correct claim decision, exploring the balance between how much and the type of evidence we source and what we ask people to provide.

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