Business of the House

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I recall my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary answering hon. Members’ questions about this within the last two weeks. I hope that the hon. Gentleman, in his work on the railways, might drop a line to ASLEF inquiring why it has so far refused to respond to the Transport Secretary’s invitation to come to talks to try to end this devastating strike, which is plaguing so many commuters in the south of England.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

May we please have a debate on the implementation of personal independence payments? I have been contacted by constituents with serious long-term health issues who were previously in receipt of disability living allowance but who have been assessed with low scores in relation to PIP. I am concerned that some of the most vulnerable in our society are being cast aside by a system that is not working as it should.

[Mr Lidington]

As the hon. Lady knows, personal independence payments are designed to compensate people for the additional living costs incurred as a result of their disability. If she knows of cases where she believes there to be a systemic problem with how awards are assessed, she is certainly welcome to draw them to my attention, and I will pass them on to the relevant Ministers, but it is surely right for the Government to concentrate on enabling disabled people who wish to work to find employment, as record numbers are now doing, while also helping people with those additional costs.