To ask the Minister for Communities (i) when is the current contract for carrying out Personal Independence Payments medical assessments due to end; and (ii) to detail her plans for delivering Personal Independence Payments medical assessments after this date.

Health assessments for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are carried out by Capita. The current PIP contract is due to end on 31 July 2023.

I have made clear that social security privatisation should be reversed and return to an in-housed health assessment service that puts peoples’ needs, equality and human rights at the heart of service provision. The Department is working to progress this, however it will require Executive approval of the budget necessary to in-house key services and a collaborative partnership with the Department of Health.