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A disability benefit assessment centre run by Capita and aimed at helping people cope with immobility is accused of being inaccessible - to disabled people.

Valerie Vaz, MP for Walsall South, has called on the chief executive of Capita to address serious concerns over the Personal Independent Payment offices in Lower Hall Lane, Walsall.

Her constituents have claimed that doors in the office rooms and toilets were not wide enough for wheelchairs.

They also allege that the ramp is too steep to comply with building regulations.

And some constituents said they were forced to climb the stairs to the interview rooms.

The PIP beneift is intended to help people aged 16 to 64 with extra costs caused by long-term ill-health or a disability and started to replace Disability Living Allowance from 8 April 2013.

Ms Vaz said: “I was alarmed to be told that PIP applicants are being asked to climb stairs to consulting rooms.

“This could wrongly be taken as evidence that they do not qualify for PIP, which is a vital lifeline intended to help meet the extra costs of having a disability.

“Some people applying for PIP have long term conditions which fluctuate –- on one day they may be able to climb the stairs, but unable to the next.”

The MP voiced her concerns in a letter to Capita Chief Executive Andrew Parker, and asked him to confirm that the building complies with the Disability Discrimination Act, the Equality Act and Building Regulations.

The letter, dated July 31, also asks for confirmation that applicants should not be asked to climb stairs, and requests that all assessments take place on the ground floor.

Ms Vaz added: “A building where PIP assessments are undertaken should be a model of accessibility, not a challenge for those who use the building most.

“I hope that Capita will urgently address the concerns raised.”

A spokeswoman for Capita said: ““We have worked with disabled peoples’ organisations to ensure all of our centres have ground floor rooms and step free access.

“We try to see claimants with mobility impairments in their own homes.”