Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Mandatory Reconsideration requests were outstanding for more than (a) one month, (b) three months and (c) six months at the latest date for which data is available.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken to complete a Mandatory Reconsideration was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK.

ESA Work Capability Assessment MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the impact of Mandatory Reconsideration delays on claimants' financial wellbeing and mental health.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Mandatory Reconsiderations (MR) offer claimants the opportunity to challenge decisions and provide additional information which may be relevant to their claim. We recognise that waiting for outcomes can be challenging for claimants.

Entitlement is usually from the date of claim, so if a decision is changed at MR, the amount awarded will be the same as if it were awarded at the initial decision stage. Arrears are paid as a lump sum, although payment can be staggered if that is the claimant’s preference.

We are allocating more decision makers to MRs to ensure decisions are made in as timely manner as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a statutory time limit for Mandatory Reconsiderations consistent with response time requirements that apply to other public administrative processes.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

There are no plans to introduce a time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.

This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision. Decisions should be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether consideration has been given to requiring the Department to determine Mandatory Reconsiderations within a specified maximum period.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

There are no plans to introduce a time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.

This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision. Decisions should be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to introduce a statutory time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

There are no plans to introduce a time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.

This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision. Decisions should be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.

Found: Liberal Democrat; Oxford West and Abingdon) (Chair) Danny Beales (Labour; Uxbridge and South Ruislip) Ben Coleman

Found: Q199 Ben Coleman: You are all very interesting.