Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in the report by the National Audit Office, The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme, published in September 2016, that lack of access by resettled Syrians to personal independence payments and carer’s allowance may cause difficulties to some refugees and have a negative impact on their experiences.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK is a world leader in supporting vulnerable people fleeing conflicts around the world and, as such, we have established an effective system to accommodate and shelter resettled people.

Refugees and those who have humanitarian protection status, such as persons resettled under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme, are entitled to work and have access to some benefits upon arrival.

DWP has decided that the application of the Past Presence Test (PPT) should not apply to refugees for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and are currently considering how best to implement that change, including the impact to other benefits which use a similar PPT.