Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what estimate she has made of the number of people with terminal illness who will have benefits reduced.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that people nearing the end of their life are some of the most vulnerable people in society and need fast track and unqualified support at this difficult time.
People who claim, or are in receipt of, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and are nearing the end of their life with 12 months or less to live, will continue to be able to access the enhanced rate of the daily living component of PIP. We will also maintain the existing fast-track route under the Special Rules for End of Life and where claims are currently being cleared in two working days. This fast-track route will not be impacted by the new eligibility requirement for PIP.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people diagnosed as having less than 12 months to live were declined PIP in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not centrally record if a claimant is terminally ill, unless they applied for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under Special Rules for End of Life (SREL).
Data on PIP clearances under SREL can be found on Stat Xplore. The requested data can be found in the ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset. You can use the ‘Month’ filter to select each month for the last five years and add it as a row or column. You can use the ‘Clearance Type Detail’ filter to select those who were disallowed. You can use the ‘End of Life Rules indicator’ filter to select SREL claimants.
You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore is also available here: Personal Independence Payment data on Stat-Xplore: user guide - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many terminally ill people were declined the Personal Independence Payment in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not centrally record if a claimant is terminally ill, unless they applied for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under Special Rules for End of Life (SREL).
Data on PIP clearances under SREL can be found on Stat Xplore. The requested data can be found in the ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset. You can use the ‘Month’ filter to select each month for the last five years and add it as a row or column. You can use the ‘Clearance Type Detail’ filter to select those who were disallowed. You can use the ‘End of Life Rules indicator’ filter to select SREL claimants.
You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore is also available here: Personal Independence Payment data on Stat-Xplore: user guide - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of terminally ill people ineligible for PIP.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not hold the data requested.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people with terminal illnesses who are younger than 22 who will lose (a) the health component of Universal Credit and (b) any other form of incapacity benefit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are currently consulting on whether to delay access to the health element of Universal Credit within the reformed system until someone is aged 22 as part of the ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working’ Green Paper.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment have a member of their household in receipt of Carer's Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
According to the Family Resource Survey (FRS), in England & Wales during the 2023-2024 financial year, the proportion of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) who have someone in their household claiming Carer’s Allowance (CA) is estimated to be around 18%. These figures are derived from the FRS household dataset on Stat-Xplore.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payments are also in receipt of Carer's Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
According to the latest figures from August 2024, in England and Wales there were 3,512,676 people claiming Personal Independence Payment. Of these, 190,186, or 5.4%, also claimed Carer’s Allowance.
These figures include people who receive Carer’s Allowance payments, as well as people who have an entitlement to Carer’s Allowance but do not receive a payment usually because they also receive another benefit, such as the State Pension, which is paid at an equivalent or higher rate.
The source of these figures is the Benefits Combination Dataset on Stat-Xplore.