The noble Baroness asks an interesting question. I do not know whether it was on her watch but she may remember that, in 2022, under the previous Government, the department ran a trial to evaluate whether health assessments conducted by different channels led to different outcomes—that is, did it matter if you did it by video, on the telephone or face to face? The trial data showed no substantial differences between work capability assessment and PIP award rates, lengths or average amounts.
Having said that, my observation is that that does not tell us whether the outcomes of individual claims were affected by the channels used. Also, at the time, there were so few face-to-face assessments being conducted that I do not think it can tell us whether the move to remote assessments under Covid had an impact on the volume of claims. Of course, behaviour changes over time, too. We have committed to increasing face-to-face assessments while preserving the alternatives; we can look carefully at whether that makes a difference.
On the noble Baroness’s broader point, there may be some way to go before the leader of the Opposition in the Commons gains the trust of her opposite number, given what has happened recently. However, I am always very happy to work with the noble Baroness; we can talk about these things day to day.