Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a Parkinson's Passport that would give automatic access to clearly defined benefits.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently exploring the feasibility of this, and the other asks within the charter.
The Department for Work and Pensions offers Personal Independence Payments (PIP) to individuals with health conditions or disabilities. However, there is currently no automatic entitlement to PIP in relation to specific health conditions, except in cases of people nearing the end of life, specifically the last year of life. The Government understands that there are people with severe and lifelong health conditions which will not improve. Guidance ensures that those on the highest level of support, whose needs will not improve, receive an ongoing award with a light-touch review at the 10-year point.
The primary focus of the Department for Transport’s Blue Badge scheme is to help those with the greatest mobility needs. Eligibility is not based on the type of disability. There are several automatic qualifying criteria for a Blue Badge, such as being in receipt of PIP because you cannot walk more than 50 metres. People who do not automatically qualify for a Blue Badge may still be eligible for a badge through further assessment.
With regards to free prescriptions, approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge, and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place. People with Parkinson’s disease who are 60 years old or over are entitled to free prescriptions. For those that have to pay for prescriptions, the cost can be capped by purchasing a pre-payment certificate, which can be paid for in instalments. Additionally, the NHS Low Income Scheme can provide help with health costs on an income-related basis.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 10 of Parkinson's UK's publication entitled Nowhere near enough, published in April 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the finding on the proportion of PIP claims made by people with Parkinson's that were initially assessed incorrectly compared with the general PIP claimant population.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are working hard to make the right decision, first time, every time. We continue to review our processes and decision-making and work closely with the assessment providers who carry out the assessments and provide feedback to ensure that they provide decision-makers with the highest quality reports.
Condition Insight Reports are also available to PIP assessors to gain a better understanding of a condition and its impact, including Parkinson’s disease. This insight report highlights the importance of exploration of the fluctuation of the condition and was completed in collaboration with relevant charities.
The Mandatory Reconsideration process is a key element of the department’s decision-making process for all benefits and offers claimants an early opportunity to challenge decisions and get them changed quickly. It offers the department an equally timely remedy for correcting decisions and means that fewer decisions progress to appeal, which is stressful and time consuming for claimants and costly for government. It is worth highlighting that in many cases, decisions can be changed as a result of new evidence or information being made available.
We published Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper on 15 March 2023. Changes set out in the White Paper include those aiming to improve our assessment of fluctuating conditions, such as the way we use medical evidence, and developing the capability of our assessors. We will also explore options for introducing a new way of gathering evidence of fluctuation in a person’s condition before their assessment. The department continues to closely monitor all aspects of the assessment process, including how we assess fluctuating conditions.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Work Capability Assessments on people with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) assesses individuals against a set of descriptors to determine how their health condition or disability affects their ability to work. The WCA takes into account the functional effects of fluctuating and degenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s. A key principle is that the WCA considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on them, not the condition itself.
Claimants with the most severe health conditions and disabilities whose condition is unlikely to ever improve are no longer routinely reassessed.
From 2025, we are reforming the WCA to reflect new flexibilities in the labour market and greater employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions, whilst maintaining protections for those with the most significant conditions. Claimants who currently have no work-related requirements, except in some very limited circumstances, will not be reassessed or lose benefit because of these changes.
When making decisions on changes to the WCA, we carefully considered over 1300 consultation responses, including from disabled people, people with health conditions, and the organisations that represent and support them. We also engaged directly with clinical experts, employer groups and disability organisations across the country.
With these changes to the WCA criteria, 371,000 fewer people will be assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity by 2028-29 and will receive personalised support to help them move closer to employment. A further 29,000 individuals will be found fit for work by 2028-29 and will receive more intensive support to search for and secure work than would be the case under the current WCA rules. These figures are not based on specific conditions. This is because the WCA considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
The department routinely engages with a wide range of organisations that represent and support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Nov. 18 2008
Source Page: Tables showing fixed award cases in payment durations for a) disability living allowance and b) attendance allowance as at May 2008, broken down by main disabling condition.Found: -100*-2500.0Frailty100*200*100*100*200*100*-700.0Epilepsy-100*-----200*Multiple Sclerosis-------100*Parkinson's
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of Parkinson's UK's report entitled Every minute counts: Time critical Parkinson’s medication on time, every time, published in September 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
Within secondary care, hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Parkinson UK's UK Parkinson's Audit, published in 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's findings on the proportion of patients who received their medication on time; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
Within secondary care, hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published on 5 September 2023, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the consultation on the (a) financial and (b) mental wellbeing of people with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We have published our response to the consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment criteria, having carefully considered feedback from disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the organisations that represent and support them.
From 2025, we will make changes to the WCA that continue to protect those with the most severe conditions, while ensuring those that can work are supported in doing so. Most existing claimants that have already been assessed without work-related requirements, will be able to benefit from our Chance to Work Guarantee. This change will in effect abolish the WCA for the vast majority of this group, and they will be able to move towards work without fear of reassessment.
As part of the Autumn Statement, the Government has also announced an expansion in tailored support for disabled people and people with health conditions, including Universal Support and NHS Talking Therapies.
The OBR have said that they expect these changes to mean that 371,000 fewer people will be declared as having Limited Capability for Work Related Activity by 2028/29 than otherwise would be the case. HMT have published the impacts in their policy costing note that accompanies the Autumn Statement.
Estimates are not based on specific conditions because the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
Jan. 18 2024
Source Page: An independent review of English public libraries - report and government reponseFound: English public libraries HTML An independent review of English public libraries - Lord Parkinson's
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published on 5 September 2023, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the consultation on the (a) financial and (b) mental wellbeing of people with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The department has developed estimates of the number of claimants impacted across the range of options being considered in the Work Capability Assessment activities and descriptors consultation. The consultation runs until the 30th October, and we will continue to refine these estimates as responses are considered following the end of the consultation period.
Estimates are not based on specific conditions because the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the training provided to Personal Independence Payment assessors on helping claimants with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Health Professionals (HPs) receive comprehensive training in assessing functional capability relating to physical and mental health conditions, including Parkinson's disease. Condition specific information on Parkinson’s disease is also available to HPs, which has been quality assured by relevant external experts.
Assessment quality is a priority for both providers and the department. The department works extensively with providers to make improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures, to ensure a high standard is always maintained. The independent audit function continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers.