Claim e0a17558Checked 21 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“The shadow Chancellor signed off those contracts.”
Reasoning & Evidence21 Jul 2026
The claim refers to the Functional Assessment Service (FAS) contracts for PIP, ESA and Universal Credit health assessments, which were awarded and signed in September 2023 with an operational start date of 2 October 2023. The current Shadow Chancellor, Sir Mel Stride, served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 25 October 2022 to 5 July 2024, meaning these contracts were agreed during his tenure as the minister responsible for the DWP. DWP ministers in the current government have publicly confirmed that the contracts signed by the previous Conservative government in 2023 contained no requirements for an adequate number of face-to-face assessments and were designed around remote (telephone) assessments. As the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at the time, Stride was the minister responsible for the department and the contracts were awarded under his oversight. Therefore, the assertion that "the shadow Chancellor signed off those contracts" is accurate: the contracts were indeed agreed during Mel Stride's period as DWP Secretary, and he is now the Shadow Chancellor.
Sources:
- GOV.UK biography of Mel Stride: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/mel-stride
- UK Parliament Members - Mel Stride career: https://members.parliament.uk/member/3935/career
- Find a Tender Service - Functional Assessment Service (FAS) 2024 contract notice (awarded September 2023): https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031934-2024/PDF
- Contracts Finder - Functional Assessment Service (FAS) 2024 (contract start 2 October 2023): https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/803dffa5-fd46-4361-ac8e-e558504437d2
- Daily Record - DWP confirms reason for increase in PIP face-to-face assessments (ministerial statement that previous government's contracts contained no requirements for adequate face-to-face assessments): https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/money/pip-face-to-face-assessments-36716465
- Daily Record - New DWP update on plans to increase face-to-face PIP assessments (Baroness Sherlock: contracts signed in 2023 by previous government, based largely on remote assessments): https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/money/dwp-update-increasing-pip-assessments-37278615
From speech
Welfare reform is balancing universal credit so that it no longer pushes people away from work. That is what we are doing; the Opposition voted against it. Welfare reform is introducing a right to try, to incentivise people to take up opportunities. That is what we are doing; they voted against it. Welfare reform is providing record funding on apprenticeships. That is what we are doing; apprenticeship starts fell by 40% on their watch. The right hon. Lady talks about the welfare bill. It soared by £88 billion on their watch. Nearly 3 million people were written off. Face-to-face assessments collapsed because of the contracts they agreed. And who signed off those contracts? The shadow Chancellor.
Sources opened