Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of her proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people with (a) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and (b) other fluctuating illnesses.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In January 2025, there were around 25,000 working age claimants in England and Wales that have their main disability recorded as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, excluding those treated under Special Rules for End of Life. Around 12,000 received less than 4 points across all daily living descriptors. The primary health conditions recorded on the PIP computer system are not classified according to whether they are fluctuating or not, therefore information can only be given for specified conditions.
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment looks at how a long-term health condition or disability impacts on daily life across 12 activities, taking into account fluctuations over a 12-month period. The activities are grouped into two components, daily living and mobility, and within each activity a descriptor must be chosen to score an individual depending on whether an individual can complete the activity, the manner in which they do it, and whether they can complete each activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period.
The assessment is designed to reflect the impact of variations in an individual's needs for all health conditions, not only those which more typically fluctuate. Health conditions may be physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive, or any combination of these, and the assessment is designed to take a comprehensive approach to disability, reflecting the needs arising from the full range of impairments.
Health professionals are expected to be mindful of the fact that many conditions fluctuate, producing symptoms that vary in intensity from mild to severe, and are instructed not to base their opinion solely on the situation as observed at the assessment. Health Professionals also have access to Condition Insight Reports (CIRs)/EBM Protocols which are developed specifically to enable them to gain further insight into clinical and functional information, relating to specific conditions.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who (a) receive and (b) will receive (i) the daily living allowance and (ii) the enhanced Personal Independence Payment after the measures in her Pathways to Work Green Paper are enacted.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with disability organisations on the impact of (a) eligibility changes to Personal Independence Payment and (b) freezing the Universal Credit health element.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, to restore public trust and fairness in the system, and to protect disabled people. That is why we are bringing forward some reforms in a Bill, including the changes to PIP eligibility and Universal Credit rates. It is right that we do this via Primary Legislation so that Parliament can fully debate and vote on these changes.
As we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms. We are consulting on how best we can support those who might lose entitlement to PIP, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. We have also launched a wider review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead, which will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this.
As we make changes to Universal Credit, we will ensure that we protect the incomes of the most severely disabled people, so they can live with dignity and security, while supporting those who can work to do so. Existing Universal Credit claims will also be protected by holding the health top up (LCWRA) steady in cash terms, while they will also benefit from the new higher standard allowance.
This government strongly values the input of disabled people and representative organisations. Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have engaged with a number of disability organisations and other stakeholders, and we will continue to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives. We are now also hosting virtual and in-person public consultation events across the country to further facilitate input and voices of disabled people and stakeholders on the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation directly.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of disabled people who receive the standard rate of Personal Independence Payments and are expected to no longer receive PIP following the changes to eligibility.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
By the time the proposed changes take effect in November 2026, it is expected that there will be 3.6 million working age people claiming PIP or Disability Living Allowance. The assessment of the Office for Budget Responsibility is that 370,000 claimants at implementation in November 2026 will lose their entitlement by 2029-30, or just over 10% of the PIP caseload in 2026-27.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of potential additional costs to his Department of the provisions outlined in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, and our mission-driven approach relies on regular cross-Government collaboration. The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand the impacts of the Green Paper and the associated consultation, and will continue to do so as the package is developed in detail.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's estimate that there will be an additional 250,000 people in relative poverty after housing costs in 2029-30 as a result of modelled changes to social security on levels of health inequalities; and whether she plans to publish a health impact assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The figure referred to does not take account of increased employment as a result of the Green Paper changes, or of other initiatives such as the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy. Further information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, alongside information published at the Spring Statement.
Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Personal Independence Payments recipients do not meet four points on a single descriptor for (a) arthritis, (b) cardiovascular diseases, (c) respiratory diseases, (d) multiple sclerosis and neuropathic diseases, (e) cancer, (f) cerebral palsy and neurological muscular diseases and (g) psychotic disorders.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information you requested can be found in Table 2.28 in the Pathways to Work: Evidence Pack: Chapter 2.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to launch a public consultation on the measures outlined in Annex A of her Department's Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans and proposals for reform to health and disability benefits and employment support. This includes some urgently needed reforms to PIP eligibility and Universal Credit rates that are not subject to consultation but on which Parliament will fully debate and vote. We included these changes in the Green Paper to allow readers to see the proposals in wider context and so they can provide more informed views.
The Green Paper does consult on many key elements of the reform package, including employment support and Access to Work, which are at the centre of our plans to improve the system for disabled people. We hope that a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation, and we are holding a programme of public consultation events across the country to help facilitate input.
We are also developing other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific work areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Personal Independence Payments on helping disabled people into work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and protect disabled people.
The Office of Budget Responsibility has committed to produce an assessment of the labour market impacts of the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper at the time of the autumn budget.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his comments in an interview on the BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme on 16 March 2025, on what evidential basis he said that there is an overdiagnosis of mental health conditions; and if he will publish the evidence used to make those comments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no doubt that many people are genuinely struggling with poor mental health and wellbeing. The Government is committed to reducing mental ill-health through earlier intervention and prevention.
Some clinicians argue that there has been an increase in the diagnosis of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions linked to changes in interpretation of, or ambiguity in, diagnostic criteria. We are committed to take an evidence-based approach to policymaking, and to hear input to reflect the range of views on this issue.
Through our work to reform the National Health Service, we are determined to ensure that people with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions get the right support, at the right time.
The Government is committed to shifting care from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention and, by doing so, creating supportive structures which build mental resilience and wellbeing for those who are struggling with their mental health. Similarly, for those with suspected or diagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions, the optimal approach is often to identify and meet needs early in life, and support and empower individuals. Of course, some people benefit from a diagnosis and some from clinical treatment. However, for these people and many others, early effective support may be more important than a clinical diagnosis.