Disability Benefit Health Assessments to Be Audio Recorded as Standard

Health assessments for disability and sickness benefits will be automatically audio recorded from today, 29 June 2026, as the Department for Work and Pensions switches from an opt in to an opt out system. The change applies to all face to face and telephone assessments for Personal Independence Payment, Work Capability Assessments in Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance, and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.

The previous arrangement required claimants to actively request a recording. Despite the option being advertised in invitation letters and on assessment supplier websites, fewer than 3% of claimants took it up. The new default reverses that entirely, recordings now happen automatically unless a claimant specifically chooses to opt out.

The Department for Work and Pensions cited feedback from disabled people and disability focused research as the driver. That research found some claimants lack trust in the health assessment process. The low take up under the opt in system, under 3% despite the option being actively advertised suggests many claimants were either unaware recordings were available or faced practical barriers in requesting one.

Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability, said: "Audio recording health assessments as standard will mean we are available to make improvements and increase assessment quality, resulting in a better experience for claimants."

The policy commitment was first set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, which stated the government's intention to make recording the default across all assessments. Today's rollout delivers on that commitment.

Recordings will serve two distinct purposes. First, they will act as a learning tool, allowing suppliers and the DWP to identify where assessment quality could be improved. Second, they will be made available to claimants who wish to appeal their initial benefit award, providing a more accurate record than a written assessor report alone.

Written reports will still be used as the primary record in the decision making process. The audio recording is an additional safeguard, not a replacement for existing documentation.

Claimants retain the right to opt out. Those who choose not to be recorded can say so before or at the start of their assessment.

The announcement sits alongside other changes the government is making to the assessment system. The DWP has committed to increasing the proportion of face to face assessments from 12% to 30%, a level that fell sharply under the previous administration. The department is also employing nearly 500 additional staff to clear the inherited backlog in Access to Work, a grant scheme that helps disabled people remain in or enter employment.

Both changes are part of a broader government effort to rebuild public trust in the benefit assessment system. Improving transparency through automatic recording is the latest step in that direction, though the scale of reform across disability benefits including the ongoing Pathways to Work programme means today's change is one part of a significantly larger picture.