Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the current Personal Independence Payments system for (a) supporting people with long-term illness and disability (b) adequate assessment of eligibility and (c) adapting to changing needs of recipients.

a). Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides extensive support to disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to help them live independent lives, contributing up to £9,583 a year, tax free, to help cover extra costs.

b) DWP has set standards for the quality of assessments and closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the assessment suppliers. Our audit process considers the initial review, evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the advice within the assessment report completed by a health professional (HP).

c) PIP award rates, and their durations, are set on an individual basis, based on the claimant’s needs and the likelihood of those needs changing. Award durations can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review at the ten-year point. Award reviews remain an important feature of PIP to ensure customers receive the correct level of benefit.

This government is committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits. We are working to develop proposals for reform and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the spring statement later this year.