Social Security Benefits: Terminal Illnesses

(asked on 6th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made on changing the six months to live rule that her Department uses to determine accessibility to additional support for people who are terminally ill.


Answered by
Justin Tomlinson Portrait
Justin Tomlinson
This question was answered on 9th July 2020

In July 2019, the Secretary of State announced an in-depth evaluation of how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life. The evaluation included 3 strands of research:

- hearing directly from claimants and charities about their first-hand experiences;

- considering international evidence to find out what works in other nations and the support they provide; and

- reviewing current DWP performance to better understand how our Special Rules for Terminal Illness process operates and performs.

The evaluation remains a priority for the Department. The Department has made good progress and we expect to be able to provide an update on the outcome of the evaluation shortly.

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