Oral Answers to Questions

Madeleine Moon Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2019 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Mrs Madeleine Moon (Bridgend) (Lab)]

1. What progress her Department has made on its review of how the benefits system supports terminally ill people.

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Justin Tomlinson)]

I understand how important it is to support those nearing the end of their life, and I am taking the evaluation forward as a priority. We have made progress on all areas of the work announced by the previous Secretary of State on 11 July. As a next step, we will be holding a workshop event on 29 October to gather key stakeholder views.

[Mrs Moon]

The Scottish Government have already done this work. They have talked to the medical profession, the third sector and patients. My Bill to implement a system in England and Wales is ready to go. Why are we not pushing ahead? Is this not just delaying the terminally ill from being able to access terminal illness benefits?

[Justin Tomlinson]

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady, who has been a tireless campaigner in this area, building on her personal and professional experience. I have met with her on several occasions, including as part of this work. We want to get things right. We understand the importance of the issue, and we are doing internal research with clinicians and external research with claimants and stakeholders. We are also looking at international research, which will include what the Scottish Government are doing, and we will be concentrating on the process to ensure that it is improved. This is an important area.