Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the qualifying period for (a) Disability Living Allowance, (b) Personal Independence Payment and (c) Carers Allowance on applicants under 25 with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the qualifying period for such applicants.

Other than in cases of people nearing the end of life, all claims to either Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are subject to the qualifying period. The qualifying period, together with a prospective test, ensures that the health condition or disability is of a long-term nature. Where the qualifying period has been satisfied, in whole or in part, at the point of claim then entitlement to the benefit can begin from the date of claim or the date the remaining qualifying period is met.

Special considerations apply to claimants who are nearing the end of life, and our arrangements recognise the difficulties faced by people who only have a short time to live with claims being fast tracked. DLA and PIP claimants are regarded as nearing the end of life if they “suffer from a progressive disease, and the person’s death in consequence of that disease can reasonably be expected within 12 months.” These claimants are guaranteed the highest rate of the Care Component of DLA or the enhanced rate of the Daily Living Component of PIP, both currently paid at £108.55 a week.

For Carer’s Allowance (CA), there is no qualifying period, and it is not dependent on the specific illness or disability of the disabled person but instead on the disability benefit being in payment at the appropriate rate. If required, CA can be backdated to the point in which the qualifying benefit for the disability benefit goes into payment.

We have no plans to change these arrangements.