Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent equality impact assessment on the Personal Independence Payment in the context of the ethnicity of people who have been awarded that payment.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) places a legal duty on the DWP to consider how its decisions impact differently on different people and in particular those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. While an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) is not a legal requirement of the PSED, it is one of the ways a department can demonstrate consideration of, and compliance, with its duty.

Prior to the introduction of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), an EIA, including against ethnicity, was completed which can be found here Disability Living Allowance reform – equality impact assessment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). EIAs are carried out in relation to significant proposals or changes to PIP, the most recent of which was in 2022. The Family Resources Survey, published annually, also contains ethnicity data by benefit, including PIP.