Social Security Benefits: Disability

Department for Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 29 October 2014.

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Photo of Kerry McCarthy Kerry McCarthy Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support available for people with progressive conditions; and to what extent the assessment process for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payments takes into account the fluctuating and progressive nature of conditions such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis.

Photo of Mark Harper Mark Harper Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions) (Disabled People)

Both Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have been designed to take full account of fluctuating conditions and healthcare professionals who undertake assessments are required to fully explore and report any fluctuations in a claimant’s condition(s).

If a claimant has a progressive medical condition, healthcare professionals will take this into consideration when advising the Department as to when the claimant might need to be reviewed.

Entitlement to both ESA and PIP is based on the impact of the claimant’s disability or health conditions.

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