Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of personal independence payment recipients the sample of 105 cases represented in his Department’s Consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payment; what methodology his Department used in its review of those cases; and how that sample was selected.

Justin Tomlinson

As part of the consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of PIP, the Department reviewed a sample of 105 cases where claimants scored all, or the majority, of their points from aids and appliances. These were randomly selected.

PIP is designed to provide a contribution to the additional costs faced by those with a long-term impairment or health-condition. Yet in over 90% of the cases reviewed claimants were likely to have only low or minimal additional costs. This was based on the professional opinion of DWP doctors who looked at all the information held on departmental systems relating to each case.

The Department’s latest published statistics show that, as of October 2015, there were 611,121 PIP claimants. 105 cases would represent 0.02% of this figure. However, this includes claimants who receive the mobility component, which is not within scope of the consultation, as well as those who receive the daily living component, the majority of whom did not score all, or most, of their points from aids and appliances.

Given the strength of the pattern that emerged from the review of the 105 cases, we believe that the cases provide an important indication of how the assessment is working and that it was important to include these findings in the consultation document.