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Closed petition End reviews of PIP and ESA awards for people with lifelong illnesses
People with a lifelong illness should not be subject to regular reviews for eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). People suffering lifelong conditions should not have to prove they are still ill every couple of years.
More details
I and others like myself have been awarded PIP and ESA for lifelong illnesses yet have to be subjected to reviews for both benefits even though these conditions are for life!
These reviews mean that people like myself are subject to repeated interviews with people who often have no idea about the conditions we suffer from, and in many case the stress of these reviews causes a flare up and worsens the condition.
These reviews are unnecessary and need to stop!
This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months
Parliament debated this topic
This topic was debated on 4 September 2023
Government responded
This response was given on 10 September 2021
We understand there are people with severe and lifelong health conditions which will not improve and want to test a simplified process which doesn’t require them to undertake a health assessment.
The Department for Work and Pensions uses functional assessments to help determine entitlement for a number of benefits, including Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and, for those claiming because they have a disability or health condition that impacts on their capability for work, Universal Credit (UC).
There is strong evidence that work is good for physical and mental well-being and that being out of work can contribute to poorer health. We want to ensure people who can work are supported to do so. The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) was designed to ensure that people receive appropriate financial support and appropriate work-related support. Reassessments are important to take into account changes in how someone’s health condition or disability affects their capability for work over time.
We use a separate assessment to determine entitlement for PIP. Unlike in UC and ESA, PIP aims to help people with the extra costs of a disability or long-term health condition. PIP is paid regardless of income or savings. Once someone has been awarded PIP, which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be reviewed. Reviews of PIP are a key part of the benefit to ensure that awards remain correct where needs may change (including where needs increase and the award may need to increase) and that we maintain contact with the individual, both features that were missing from PIP’s predecessor Disability Living Allowance. The length of an award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review after 10 years.
Over recent years, we introduced a range of improvements to avoid unnecessary reassessments. In WCA, for example, we have worked with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to develop a set of criteria to waive the need to re-assess people with the most severe health conditions or disabilities (unless a change of circumstances is reported).
Those placed in the ESA Support Group or found to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) in UC, who have the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function would always mean that they would have LCWRA, and be unlikely ever to be able to move into work, are not routinely reassessed.
Rather than being defined through a list of specific health conditions, the severe conditions criteria are considered as part of the WCA. This gives the individual the best opportunity to share with us the most up to date information about the functional impacts of their condition.
We have also made changes to help reduce the frequency of repeat assessments some people need to go through on PIP. We have ensured that people who receive the highest level of support whose needs will not improve and most people over State Pension Age, receive an ongoing award of PIP with a ‘light touch’ review at the 10-year point. Ongoing awards can be applied to any level or combination of award outcome so long as the person’s needs are unlikely to change. A review can take place sooner if a person’s needs change.
Furthermore, the Shaping future support: the health and disability green paper published on 20th July 2021 recognises that people who do not come within the special rules for terminal illness may still have severe and lifelong conditions that will not improve. These people are unlikely ever to work again and will always need extra financial support to live independently. We want to test a new Severe Disability Group (SDG) so that these people can benefit from a simplified process without ever needing to complete a detailed application form or go through an assessment. This will build on existing successful measures such as the Severe Conditions Criteria. The SDG could apply to people on PIP, ESA and UC.
We expect that the decision to place someone in the SDG will be based on information from medical professionals so we are working with a group of health and social care professionals to help us develop the criteria for the SDG and identify the evidence that would be required to meet them. We will also consult with charities and disabled people’s organisations on the criteria. Additionally, we will work directly with disabled people and people with health conditions to develop the service, and test the approach to make sure it delivers the improvements we are seeking. This test will look at whether the SDG achieves its goals while ensuring people receive the right level of benefit. We will consider the test results alongside the responses to the Green Paper when determining whether the policy should be rolled out further.
The consultation is an important step towards making changes that will improve our services, improve employment outcomes and enable people to live independent lives. Our approach must be informed by different views and opinions, particularly those of disabled people and people with health conditions.
Department for Work and Pensions
Related activity
How could PIP and ESA assessments be better? MPs want to hear from you
The Work and Pensions Committee are running a survey to hear from people who have had Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or Work Capability Assessments as part of a claim for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit. They want to know what your experience was and how you think these assessments could be improved.
If you have had an assessment to claim PIP and/or a Work Capability Assessment to claim ESA or as part of a Universal Credit claim, you can tell the committee your views here: https://forms.office.com/r/WPHy8kB23e
An Easy Read version of the survey is available as a PDF here: https://www.parliament.uk/contentassets/04b00c9bda3740e7831c04e1fa0d9fd2/isl_190_21_er_health_assessments_survey_finals_web-acc_2.02MB.pdf
The survey will be open until mid-February 2022.
What happens next?
We will use your response as part of our inquiry into Health assessments for benefits.
We might publish some or all of your responses on the committee's website or social media. The committee might read them out when they're asking questions in a public committee meeting or in the House of Commons.
The committee won't ask for your name or publish any details that could identify you.
For more information about the inquiry, visit our inquiry page: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1468/health-assessments-for-benefits
What is the Work and Pensions Committee?
The Work and Pensions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that look into the work of the Department for Work and Pensions.
Find out more about the committee on its website:
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/164/work-and-pensions-committee
Follow the committee on Twitter for updates on its work:
https://twitter.com/CommonsWorkPen
The Work and Pensions Committee is a select committee. Find out how select committees work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
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Disability benefits assessments debated by MPs
MPs debated disability benefits assessments on Tuesday 1 February in Westminster Hall. The debate was led by Marsha De Cordova MP.
Read a transcript of the debate: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-02-01/debates/E9607D70-36BB-489A-A4D6-E5517C99819F/DisabilityBenefitsAssessments
Watch the debate: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/cffaed45-e164-4b1f-a884-d851d496712f
This was a general debate. General debates allow MPs to debate important issues, however they do not end in a vote nor can they change the law.
Find out more about how Parliamentary debates work: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/debates/
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MPs call for change to benefits health assessments system
On Friday 14 April, the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee published a report on the health assessment system to access benefits for those who cannot work, or face extra costs, due to a disability or ill-health.
The Committee found that the system continues to let down some of the often vulnerable people who rely on it. The report called on the Government to take measures to improve trust, drive down the high rate of decisions reversed on appeal, and reduce waiting times.
- Read a summary of the Committee’s report
- Read the Committee's full report (html)
- Read the Committee's full report (pdf)
- The report is also available in alternative formats
In its report, the Committee makes a series of recommendations to the Government, including calls to:
- Allow claimants to choose between remote or in-person assessments
- Extend the deadline to return forms
- Set targets to reduce assessment waiting times
For more information, including a comment from the Chair of the Committee, Sir Stephen Timms MP, read the Committee's press release about the report.
What happens next?
The Government must respond to the report, which was published on 14 April 2023, within two months. The Committee will publish the Government’s response on its website.
What is the Work and Pensions Committee?
The Work and Pensions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that look into the work of the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Work and Pensions Committee is a select committee. Find out how select committees work.
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Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.
MPs debate Personal Independence Payment and other disability benefits
MPs held a debate on Personal Independence Payment and other disability benefits on Tuesday 26 March in Westminster Hall. The debate was led by Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP.
What is a Westminster Hall debate?
Westminster Hall is the second chamber of the House of Commons. Westminster Hall debates give MPs an opportunity to raise local and national issues and receive a response from a government minister. Westminster Hall debates are general debates that do not end in a vote.
Visual explainer: Westminster Hall debates
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