Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to social security benefits for all people in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England who have been diagnosed as terminally ill.

The Department has published updated guidance for clinicians to support them with completing DS1500s for Special Rules for Terminal Illness claims. We also introduced a dedicated GOV.UK page with information on claiming benefits for those nearing the end of their lives. The Department is committed to delivering an improved benefit system for claimants that are nearing the end of their lives and in July 2019, announced an in-depth evaluation into how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life. The Department is working across Government to bring forward proposals following the evaluation to implement the key areas identified in the evaluation; raising awareness of the support that is available; improving ​consistency with other services used by people nearing the end of their lives; and a consensus to change the six-month rule.