Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that people appealing unsuccessful mandatory reconsiderations following a reassessment for the enhanced mobility component of personal independence payments do not have their vehicles rescinded before a decision on appeal is reached.

The Motability charity provides a one-off package of transitional support and advice to support customers who no longer meet the eligibility criteria for the Motability scheme. For the majority of these customers, Motability provides transitional support of £2,000 in order to help support their mobility needs, including those who choose to appeal during this period. If an appeal is successful, PIP arrears are paid in full to the claimant and they can re-join the Motability scheme immediately, if they repay their transitional support money, or else within 6 months of the date they left the scheme.

However, we recognise that the appeals process can be challenging and the current seven-week return period does not fully mitigate this. We are looking at options to support disabled people better, which include on-going discussions with Motability. In addition, we are also looking to improve the quality of our decision making at all stages, and working closely with HM Courts and Tribunals Service to reduce appeals times.