§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the piloting of capability reports for personal advisers in jobcentres; and if he will make a statement. [146623]
§ Mr. BrowneSince 2000, the Department has been piloting the use of capability reports by personal advisers conducting work-focused interviews with customers claiming incapacity benefit. The Department commissioned research to assess the effectiveness of this capability report in supporting personal advisers and has undertaken additional in-house evaluation.
459WResearch undertaken by the National Centre for Social Research for the Department for Work and Pensions was published in 2002 ("Evaluation of the Capability Report: Identifying the work-related capabilities of incapacity benefit", WP Research report 162), copies of which are in the Library.
In taking forward findings from this evaluation, a range of activities were put in place to improve the use and effectiveness of the capability reports, including improving training for advisers and piloting a shorter version.
Formal piloting of the clerical capability reports ended in March 2003; this work has informed the development of an electronic version of the report. The new incapacity benefit pilots will include an evaluation of the role of this new capability report.