Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with multiple sclerosis have made a new application for personal independence payments in each year since these payments were introduced; and how many of those people have received those payments in each nation of the UK.

The latest available data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) clearances split by geographical area within Great Britain (region), by type of clearance (i.e. whether the claim was awarded, disallowed or withdrawn) and by main disabling condition for both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reassessment claims for each month from the introduction of PIP in April 2013 to the last available data in January 2019, can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html

Please note that a PIP claimant’s disability is not recorded until they attend an assessment so the Department does not hold data on how many claimants with a particular condition made an application for PIP. Data on the number of registrations (applications) to PIP each month from April 2013 to January 2019 is available on Stat-Xplore.

Please note that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is only responsible for benefits in Great Britain. Social security benefits including PIP are a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and your questions regarding PIP in Northern Ireland should be directed at the Department of Communities in Northern Ireland who are responsible for PIP.