Written questions by Qureshi.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that Personal Independence Payment assessments make an adequate assessment of claimants’ (a) physical symptoms and (b) medical evidence and (c) other supporting evidence.

PIP assessors give due consideration to all available evidence when completing their advice to the Department. DWP decision makers also consider all available evidence when making entitlement decisions on PIP. The Department closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the assessment providers and the quality of assessments. All providers work with the department on plans to continuously improve assessment quality through a range of measures including audit, clinical observations, tailored training and development plans, providing feedback and in the support available to assessors. We set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper our intention to improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits. This includes exploring ways to improve PIP assessments through digitalising transfer of medical information. We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we will, in future, record assessments by default, unless the claimant asks that the assessment should not be recorded. This will give us the means to check what happened when an assessment is found later to have been incorrect, and, we expect, an effective lever for improvement

Whether she plans to review the treatment of Maternity Allowance as unearned income when calculating means-tested benefits.

We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby’s health and wellbeing. Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid by the State, for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, and is classed as unearned income for Universal Credit purposes. As such, in determining the entitlement to Universal Credit, Maternity Allowance is deducted pound for pound from the total value of the award. Where an individual claims Universal Credit, their award is adjusted to take account of other financial support that the customer is already receiving – including earnings, other income and benefits. This principle applies to other benefits: for example, the same approach is applied to new style Jobseeker’s Allowance and new style Employment and Support Allowance.

If she will exempt payments from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme as income when calculating means-tested benefits.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 5 December 2024 to question UIN 16635.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of linking the Carer's Allowance earning limit to increase in the national living wage.

The Government recognises the challenges unpaid carers are facing and is determined to provide them with the help and support they need and deserve. It is looking closely at how the benefit system currently does this. The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the carer element of Universal Credit for unpaid carers, in the context of recent trends in the cost of living.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and State Pensions. The outcome of the Secretary of State’s review will be announced in the usual way. No assessment has been made of the merit of increasing the carer element of Universal Credit outside of the annual review.