Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have died while waiting for their eligibility for personal independence payments to be determined; and what the main disabling condition was of those people.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is claimed by people with a range of health conditions and disabilities, many of which are degenerative or life limiting and the Department treats the death of any claimant sympathetically. Claims made under Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) are fast tracked and are being cleared in 6 working days on average (as at the end of October 2019, the latest available published data).

The cause of death of claimants to PIP is not collated centrally by the Department.

Between the introduction of PIP in April 2013 and 31^st October 2019, the latest date for which published data is available, 4,617,990 decisions were made on claims to PIP. Of these, 20,830 (less than 0.5%) claimants died prior to a decision being made on their case.

The Department only records the disabilities of claimants who have reached the assessment stage. Therefore, the disabilities of claimants who passed away prior to the assessment stage appear under “Unknown or missing” in the table below.

Table: Disability of claimants who died prior to a decision being made on their PIP claim (Great Britain only).

Please note that the DWP is only responsible for benefits in Great Britain. Social security benefits, including PIP, are a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. Questions about PIP claimants in Northern Ireland should be directed to the Department of Communities in Northern Ireland.

Notes:

• These figures include claims made under Normal Rules or Special Rules for Terminal Illness and include new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
• If a claimant dies before a decision is made on an outstanding claim, the Department establishes whether the claimant’s representative or next of kin wishes to proceed with the claim. If not, the claim is withdrawn.
• It is possible for claims to transition between Normal and Special Rules during the course of the claimant journey.
• This is unpublished data from the PIP computer system’s (PIP CS) management information. It should be used with caution and may be subject to future revision.
• Figures cover claims on which a decision has been made and recorded on the PIP CS on or prior to 31^st October 2019. Claims on which a decision has not been entered are excluded.
• Claimants’ dates of death are as recorded on the system at 6^th March 2020 and may be subject to retrospection.
• Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, ‘#’ indicates a figure under 5 and individual numbers may not sum to the total because of rounding.
• GB only.