Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published in March 2023, whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that disabled people who are not eligible for the Personal Independence Payment receive the new Universal Credit health element if they are unable to work.

We want the system to continue to support those most in need, while recognising people shouldn’t need to be found to have limited capability for work and work-related-activity to access additional income-related support.

For the group who receive LCWRA but not PIP, we will carefully consider whether they meet the PIP assessment and eligibility criteria.

We are committed to protecting those claimants who are currently treated as LCWRA due to pregnancy risk, or because they are about to receive, receiving, or recovering from, treatment for cancer, by way of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We will provide explicit provision to allow these claimants to access the new UC health top-up, even when they are not in receipt of PIP.

Any LCWRA recipients who are not also in receipt of PIP at the point that they move to the new system, and whose circumstances remain unchanged, will receive transitional protection.