Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments to include people who have been forced to move abroad due to life-threatening medical conditions.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can continue to be paid during an absence from Great Britain for 13 weeks. This can be increased to 26 weeks where the absence is specifically in relation to medical treatment of the condition which existed prior to a temporary absence.

We have no plans to change these rules.

Where someone moves permanently to a European Economic Area country or Switzerland, for customers in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) the export of the daily living component of PIP can exceed the temporary absence rules. The length of time PIP can be exported for depends on their individual circumstances. Further information on receiving benefits abroad and the WA are available on Gov.UK: Moving or retiring abroad - GOV.UK.