Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman is right that we need to go further and faster in kick-starting growth and attracting the investment we need to create jobs, and that our regulators must regulate for growth and not just for risk. We do want that continuity of leadership that he mentioned, and we are convening and getting people together to drive growth. We will take away the ideas that he put on the table.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Q12. Proposed changes to personal independence payments mean that people who require various levels of support due to lifelong conditions such as learning disabilities will not meet the new eligibility criteria. However, the Green Paper introduces a group of people with lifelong conditions who will not be subject to reassessment. Can the Prime Minister confirm that people with a learning disability—a lifelong condition that will not change—will be included in the group of claimants who will not be subjected to repeated reassessments?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question; I know this issue means a lot to her. We are clear on the principles for reform: protecting those with the most severe disabilities, who will never be able to work, as she refers to, and making sure that people with the most severe disabilities and health conditions will never again face the prospect of being constantly reassessed. We are making sure that extra financial support is based on the impact of a health condition or disability, not the capacity to work, and I can reassure her that we are carefully considering options for transitional protection.