Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (i) whether Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) claims are matched to assessors with condition-specific expertise, (ii) whether the Department for Health and Social Care holds audits or quality assurance exercises on the accuracy and consistency of medical determinations under the VDPS since 2021, and (iii) what steps are being taken to ensure the transparency and accountability of the VDPS medical assessment process.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Each claim to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) is assessed on a case-by-case basis by a medical assessor. All medical assessors are General Medical Council registered doctors, who have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), as the administrator of the VDPS, is responsible for managing quality assurance with the medical assessment supplier. Medical assessors write a comprehensive medical assessment report for each claim, explaining how they reached their decision and what evidence they considered. NHSBSA shares this report with the claimant.
If a claim is rejected, the claimant can challenge the medical assessor’s decision by submitting a mandatory reversal request. The original decision will then be reviewed.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 adequacy of the current provision for young adults with cerebral palsy but with no diagnosed learning disability.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that young adults with cerebral palsy, including those without a diagnosed learning disability, can access appropriate, high‑quality services that meet their individual needs.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the health needs of their local populations and for commissioning the necessary services, including specialist neurodisability, therapy, community rehabilitation, and wider support for people with cerebral palsy.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a guideline for adults with cerebral palsy, reference code NG119. The guideline recommends regular reviews of clinical and functional needs, clear care pathways, and access to multi-disciplinary teams and specialist neurology services. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng119
ICBs are expected to take full account of NICE guidance when designing and commissioning services for their local populations. NICE guidelines provide authoritative, evidence‑based recommendations on best practice, including clinical and cost‑effectiveness considerations. NHS England ensures that ICBs follow NICE guidance through a combination of statutory oversight frameworks, annual performance assessments, and local clinical governance requirements.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out a vision for a health and care system that delivers more personalised, integrated, and proactive care for people with long-term and complex conditions, including those with cerebral palsy but no diagnosed learning disability. By 2027, 95% of people with complex needs should have an agreed personal care plan. These will promote shared decision-making and access to personal health budgets, giving individuals more choice and control over therapies, equipment, and support tailored to their needs. Additionally, integrated neighbourhood health teams will bring together professionals across disciplines to deliver joined-up care for people with cerebral palsy.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle barriers to work for disabled people in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity.
Disabled people are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support (IPS) in Primary Care and WorkWell. We are also rolling out Connect to Work, our supported employment programme for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing more complex barriers to work.
DWP is working with the NHS and Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) as part of the Get Hertfordshire Working strategic plan. DWP and the NHS co-chair the Work and Health subgroup of the plan. This group is working with local employers and key partners from the statutory, education and voluntary sectors, to support residents with health conditions to both stay in and return to work through a range of activities such as employment and skills training and providing support in managing their health conditions. The group is also developing employment pathways such as work experience, internships, and apprenticeships with partner agencies.
DEAs in the Jobcentres supporting the constituency hold in-depth Work Ability conversations that focus on strengths, suitable work options, workplace adjustments and confidence building. There is a Weekly Wednesday Job Club for Berkhamsted customers. As part of the Pathways to Work initiative DEAs work in collaboration with HCC to deliver joined up services for residents by supporting disabled people into employment through our Connect to Work programme, referrals to Employment Advisors in Talking Therapies and IPS.
We set out our plan for the Pathways to Work Guarantee in our Pathways to Work Green Paper and are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and people with health conditions on out of work benefits. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan also states the Government’s intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help tackle pay disparities for disabled people living in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The consultation on ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting closed on 10 June. We will publish the Government response to the ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting consultation in due course.
Last year, the Office for Equality and Opportunity published a call for evidence on equality law, which included consideration of how we make the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people. This closed on 30 June 2025 and we are now working to analyse the responses.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people who leave employment due to long-term health conditions or disability can access Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment without (a) delays and (b) repeated appeals.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to providing timely and accurate support to people whose ability to work is affected by long-term health conditions or disabilities through Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Anyone who claims ESA and PIP must satisfy the relevant conditions of entitlement, regardless of the circumstances in which the claim is made. Initial decisions on claims will be made without delay once all evidence needed is available.
Decisions are made within a statutory framework, which allows for revision within one month of notification, with extensions where reasonable. Decisions may also be revised or superseded where there has been official error, where new medical evidence is presented or where a customer has had a relevant change in circumstances. These provisions help ensure accurate decision making and reduce the need for repeated appeals.
We recognise that some customers have complex needs and may require additional support and reasonable adjustments, including adapted communication, additional time, and advocacy from representatives or appointees.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued on the consideration of occupational health reports when assessing claims for (a) Employment and Support Allowance and (b) Personal Independence Payment for people with cognitive or fluctuating conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provides comprehensive training and guidance for assessment providers and the health professionals (HPs) who carry out both Work Capability Assessments (WCA) in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC), and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments. The WCA Handbook and the Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide (PIPAG) sets out how HPs should evaluate all relevant evidence when assessing a claimant’s functional limitations against the respective criteria.
Both WCA and PIP assessments are functional assessments, focusing on the impact of health condition(s) or disability. HPs consider all available evidence. DWP decision makers give due consideration to all available evidence when making decisions on benefit entitlement, including the HP’s assessment report and any evidence provided by the individual, their GP or consultant, and anybody else that provides them with formal or informal support.
HPs receive training on cognitive and fluctuating conditions and how these might impact on how individuals perform the activities/descriptors which form the assessments.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the requiring claimants to score four points in a single daily living activity to be eligible for the Personal Independence Payment on people with learning disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As I set out to the House on 1 July 2025, the Government listened to concerns and withdrew its proposal to introduce an additional requirement to score a minimum of 4 points in a single activity to be eligible for the daily living element of PIP.
Instead, we launched the Timms Review, the first full review of PIP since its introduction in 2013. The Review is being co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts, and aims to ensure that PIP is fair and fit for the future.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with amputee charities regarding helping amputees into work.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, including amputees, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity.
Blesma, the veterans’ limbless charity, are members of the Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum and have been members of a Universal Credit stakeholder forum and the Health Transformation Forum.
Disabled people are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell. We are also rolling out Connect to Work, our supported employment programme for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing more complex barriers to work.
We set out our plan for the “Pathways to Work Guarantee” in our Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, and are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and people with health conditions on out of work benefits. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
Additionally, we have developed a digital information service for employers, oversees the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.
The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan also states the Government’s intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is available to amputees seeking work.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, including amputees, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity.
Blesma, the veterans’ limbless charity, are members of the Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum and have been members of a Universal Credit stakeholder forum and the Health Transformation Forum.
Disabled people are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell. We are also rolling out Connect to Work, our supported employment programme for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing more complex barriers to work.
We set out our plan for the “Pathways to Work Guarantee” in our Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, and are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and people with health conditions on out of work benefits. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
Additionally, we have developed a digital information service for employers, oversees the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.
The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan also states the Government’s intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to special educational needs and disabilities were lodged with the First-tier Tribunal in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Information about appeals lodged with the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.