Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the transfer from disability living allowance to personal independence payments is made effectively; and what representations she has received on claimants whose payments have changed significantly despite there being no change in their circumstances.

The claiming process for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), including the arrangements to invite existing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants to claim PIP, was co-produced with the assistance of disabled people, carers and their representative support organisations to ensure it works effectively. Up to the end of October 2017 nearly 1,177,000 DLA to PIP claims had been registered, of which nearly 1,100,000 claims had been cleared. To ensure continuity of payment, DLA claimants continue to get paid while their PIP claim is being assessed.

The Secretary of State and Ministers receive a wide range of representations about PIP from individuals, organisations and Parliamentarians. However, as PIP is a different benefit to DLA, with different assessment criteria, someone moving from DLA to PIP will not automatically be entitled to PIP, or guaranteed the same level of award. PIP is intended to focus support on those who need it most and 38 per cent of those previously in receipt of DLA are currently receiving the highest possible rate of benefit compared with only 15 per cent on DLA of working age at May 2013.