Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mandatory reconsiderations on the (a) finances and (b) emotions of affected people; and how the Department is ensuring those reconsiderations are completed in a timely manner.

Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) offers claimants the opportunity to challenge decisions and provide additional information which may be relevant to their claim.

Entitlement is usually from the date of claim, so if a decision is changed at MR, the amount awarded will be the same as if it were awarded at the initial decision stage. Arrears are paid as a lump sum.

We are allocating more decision makers to MRs to ensure decisions are made in as timely manner as possible.