The Health Assessment Advisory Service arranges and carries out assessments on behalf of the Department for Communities (DfC).
If you are claiming benefits as a result of a disability, injury or ill health, you may be required by DfC to have an assessment with a qualified Healthcare Professional as part of your claim process.
Our Healthcare Professionals conduct the assessments; using criteria set out by the Department and provide DfC with independent advice in an Assessment Report. Assessments can take place face-to-face at an Assessment Centre or on the telephone
DfC decision makers review the Assessment Report, along with any other additional information they have received, to decide on your entitlement to benefit. We do not decide your benefit entitlement. DfC will notify you of the outcome of your claim.
We cannot give you advice or provide an opinion on the outcome of your claim. DfC Decision Makers may use other information when considering your entitlement to benefit. We are not informed of the outcome of individual decisions, and we have no targets related to decisions made.
We want to help you feel prepared and ready for your face-to-face assessment. We deliver hundreds of thousands of assessments every year, and we make sure to give you a sensitive and respectful service.
If you need any more help before your assessment, you can call us on 0800 072 0398.
Select one of the options below to go to the relevant section:
If you’re applying for Universal Credit (UC) you will need to create an online account on NI Direct. Once you have created your account you must send your claim within 28 days, if you try after 28 days you will need to create a new account.
You will need to fill in the online form. It’s important that you complete the form as fully as possible, answering all of the relevant questions. We will use the information you provide on the form to decide if you need to come in for a face-to-face assessment or not.
You can use the account you’ve made to find information about your claim and contact Universal Credit.
If you need help filling in the form you can contact UC through your online account or speak to a member of the team in your local Jobs and Benefits office or phone 0800 012 1331 (text phone: 0800 012 1441) Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 4.00 pm (excluding public holidays).
Watch this DWP Video on YouTube ’Starting your Universal Credit Claim’
What to bring to the assessment
- Proof of identity
- Any medication you may be taking
- Any information from your general practitioner (GP) or specialist which explains how your condition affects you
If you are claiming expenses, please bring details of your bank account if you have one.
Interpreters
Please let us know at least two days before your assessment if you need an interpreter for your assessment. This will help to make sure that we can have an interpreter available for you. This includes ISL or BSL users.
Appointment arrangements
We will send a letter with your assessment date. Your appointment letter will have a contact number and information about the assessment, including directions to your Assessment Centre. Please read this letter before your assessment.
If you need help before your assessment, call our Customer Enquiries team on 0800 072 0398. You can call us about specific requirements, interpreters, ground floor facilities, an authorised companion, audio recording requests, and more. The Customer Enquiries line is open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm.
What happens with your support before your assessment
Whilst you are waiting for your assessment to be completed you will receive the standard rate of Universal Credit and will need to continue attending the Jobs and Benefits office as agreed with your work coach. You can find more information about Universal Credit on NI Direct.
Further evidence
Select the + sign to learn what we do, and don't need to see
You may be asked for details of the professionals or carers who know the most about your health conditions, illnesses and disabilities – click on the list below to see what these might be:
Remember – only send us copies of medical or other information if you already have them. Don’t ask or pay for new information or send us original documents. Please write your National Insurance number on each piece of information you send to us. If you haven’t yet received a UC50 form, it might be easier for you if you start to gather some of your medical information in advance. This form allows us to decide if you will need a face-to-face assessment. The DfC may not be able to continue to pay you benefits if we don’t receive this form in time. If you cannot return the form in time, let us know as soon as possible. There is also a box that allows you to explain why your form was late. If you have any concerns at all about the form, it’s important that you contact us as soon as you can or ask a representative to.
The assessment interview
The healthcare professional will introduce themselves and explain the assessment to you. They will record information on a computer. Some questions may not relate directly to your medical condition, but to daily activities.
The assessment questions may include:
- When your illness or disability started
- How your condition changes from day-to-day
- How it affects your daily life
- How it affects your mood and the way you behave
- How you cope with things from day-to-day
The healthcare professional will record information about your pain, fatigue, and the medication you take. Depending on your illness or disability the assessment may include:
- a physical examination
- blood pressure, sight, hearing or other tests
- movements such as stretching, standing and bending
The healthcare professional will not ask you to make any movements that cause you discomfort. If you are worried that certain movements may cause you pain, please tell the healthcare professional.
We provide DfC with an assessment report which is impartial and gives justified medical advice about how you are currently affected by your medical condition. This is following government legislation and the processes agreed by DfC.
The healthcare professional
Our healthcare professionals are doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists registered with their governing body. They go through a specifically designed training course, approved by DfC on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Companion or chaperone during your assessment
You are welcome to bring a relative, carer or friend with you. Although the assessment will focus on you, a companion can offer useful support to you.
Taking notes
You or your companion are welcome to take notes for your personal use. Your notes will not form part of the medical report that we send to the DfC.
Waiting time and length of consultation
We’ll make sure you are seen as soon as possible. The receptionist will tell you if you have to wait.
Other people who arrive after you may go to their consultation before you. This is because we do several types of consultation, and some take longer than others. There is no set time for consultations, but they are usually between 20 minutes and 1 hour.
After your consultation our healthcare professional completes a report using criteria laid out by the DfC. This is to provide the DfC decision maker with an impartial, justified medical opinion about how you are affected by your medical condition.
The consultation report will describe your medical conditions and the activities you undertake in a typical day. It will also have the healthcare professional’s observations, and the results of any physical examination undertaken.
The report is one piece of information DfC uses in deciding your entitlement. The healthcare professional who carries out your assessment does not make any decision about your allowance, benefit or credits. The healthcare professional will not know the outcome of your claim.
You may request a copy of the full report from the DfC office handling your claim.
Decisions on claims
DfC will let you know of the outcome of your claim. You should direct any questions or concerns about the outcome of your claim to the relevant DfC office. They will know what information they have used to decide your entitlement. The Health Assessment Advisory Service will not be aware of this. We have no decision-making role.
Claiming expenses
The Health Assessment Advisory Service pays expenses:
- for travel by public transport
- towards fuel costs for private cars
- the cost of parking when it is not available at the Consultation Centre.
We will also pay for fares of a companion, relative, carer or young children who would otherwise be alone. If you wish to claim for an authorised companion to travel with you, call us on 0800 072 0398 before the assessment and let us know.
To have your expenses paid, you will need to fill out and send an expense form. You may ask the receptionist at the Consultation Centre for help filling out the form. Please keep all your receipts. You should receive payment for your expenses approximately two weeks after you send the form.
Further information
If you have questions, contact the DfC office handling your claim. The office number will be on letters you have received about your claim.
For Universal Credit you should use your Journal to contact DfC.
For the Disability and Carers benefits, to get the correct number call 0800 587 0912. If you have speech or hearing difficulties, you can call them by text phone on 0800 012 1574 .
