Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment process for people with epilepsy; and how many and what proportion of people with epilepsy successfully appealed an initial assessment for PIP in the latest period for which data is available.

No such assessment has been made.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability. Entitlement is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from the health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself.

Decisions are made following consideration of all of the information provided by the claimant, including supporting evidence from their GP or medical specialist, together with an assessment report from a healthcare professional.

For decisions made up to 30th June 2022, where claimants had one of the conditions within the 'Epilepsy' subgroup recorded as their primary condition, there were 9,500 successful appeals, 11% of initial decisions relating to epilepsy.

Please note:

• Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and percentages to the nearest percent;
• Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple conditions upon which the decision is based, but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics;
• The ‘epilepsy’ subgroup contains conditions such as cataplexy, generalised seizures and narcolepsy;”
• We have provided data for England and Wales (excluding Scotland) in line with the latest published figures on PIP;
• These figures include initial decisions following assessment for PIP (New Claims and Reassessments) from April 2013 up to 30^th June 2022, the latest date for which published data is available;
• These figures include appeal outcomes up to 30^th September 2022, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more appeals could be made and completed after September 2022, so numbers may change as it can take some time for an appeal to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision;
• Successful appeals have been defined as those overturned at tribunal and those lapsed by the DWP;
• A lapsed appeal is where the DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing; and
• The appeal figures will include some decisions which are changed at a mandatory reconsideration, where the claimant continues to appeal for a higher PIP award, which are then changed again at appeal.