Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025, whether people with a terminal illness who do not have a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be eligible for the additional premium in Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These rules enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, to receive the highest rate of benefit.
The SREL have been extended to apply to people who have 12 months or less to live, rather than 6 months or less to live, so that people receive vital support through the Special Rules six months earlier, increasing the number of people able to access benefits through the Special Rules.
The Pathways to Work Green paper announced that the Government is considering the appropriate rules for those in specific circumstances, such as being at end of life. It also announced that, after April 2026, the Government plans to protect the incomes of those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what the value will be of the additional premium in Universal Credit for people with the most severe, life-long health conditions with no prospect of improvement.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in the Green Paper, we will ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work will see their incomes protected. We will also ensure this group face no future reassessment. We will set this out in the forthcoming Bill.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people with a terminal illness who do not have a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be exempt from work-related activity requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are currently consulting on how we should determine which individuals or groups of individuals should be exempt from the requirement to participate in conversations or any work-related requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people with a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be exempt from work-related activity requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are currently consulting on how we should determine which individuals or groups of individuals should be exempt from the requirement to participate in conversations or any work-related requirements following the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published in March 2025, whether people with a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness will be eligible for the additional premium in Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
The Pathways to Work Green paper is clear that in taking forward reforms, the Government is considering the appropriate rules for those in specific circumstances, such as being at end of life. It is also clear that after April 2026, the Government is proposing that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who have no prospect of improvement and will never be able to work, will see their incomes protected.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of Universal Credit have a terminal condition but do not have a claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information is not available. The Universal Credit system is usually only informed of a terminal illness diagnosis through an application for the Special Rules for End of Life.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to widen the scope of the consultation for the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans and proposals for reform to health and disability benefits and employment support. This includes some urgently needed reforms to PIP eligibility and UC rates that are not subject to consultation but on which Parliament will fully debate and vote. We included these changes in the Green Paper to allow readers to see the proposals in wider context and so they can provide more informed views.
The Green Paper does consult on many key elements of the reform package, including employment support and access to work, which are at the centre of our plans to improve the system for disabled people. We hope that a wide range of voices will respond to the consultation, and we are holding a programme of public consultation events across the country to help facilitate input.
We are also developing other ways to facilitate the involvement of stakeholders and disabled people in our reforms. In addition to the consultation itself, we will establish ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific work areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, CP 1297, published on 18 March 2025, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who would lose entitlement to Personal Independence Payments by health (a) condition and (b) impairment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason has the Department's Decision Maker's Guide downgraded Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit applications for asbestos (PD1 pneumoconiosis) and asbestos-related pleural thickening (PD9) to non-urgent.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Guidance on how the law is interpreted for DWP decision makers is contained in the Decision Makers' Guide (DMG). The DMG is also published on GOV.UK.
In December 2024, the DMG - Volume 11, Chapter 67 - was updated to remove references to ‘urgent processing criteria’ for some Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) prescribed diseases. This included: D1 (pneumoconiosis), D9 (unilateral or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening) and D12 (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – COPD). This is because ‘urgent processing criteria’ is not set out in IIDB legislation for these conditions. Urgent processing for these conditions is an internal operational procedure only, therefore these references should not have been included in the DMG.
Removing references to urgent processing in the DMG has had no impact on IIDB processing instructions. Claims for D1, D9 and D12 continue to be processed urgently and there are no plans for any future changes to this process. IIDB operational guidance continues to specify that:
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment has she made of the potential impact of the under occupancy charge on rates of poverty.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS), sometimes referred to as the underoccupancy charge, applies to claims for housing support - either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit - where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that has more bedrooms than their benefit entitlement.
Easements are available which allow an additional bedroom to support disabled people and carers, the families of disabled children, foster carers, parents who adopt, parents of service personnel and people who have suffered a bereavement.
We continue to keep all policies under review, considering them against a range of factors, including the wider fiscal situation and fit with government missions.
Those unable to meet the shortfall in their rent can seek a Discretionary Housing Payment from their local authority.