Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments have taken place after a claimant has died to establish whether that claimant's family or estate are entitled to claim that funding retrospectively.

In March 2012, deadlines were introduced for requests for an assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed periods of care’ between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2012 in England. The deadline for registering for a review of unassessed periods of care during this time period was 31 March 2013, after which approximately 63,000 requests for an assessment were received, with approximately 25,000 resulting in a full assessment.

Individuals, their families, or a representative are currently able to request an assessment from their responsible clinical commissioning group for an NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed period of care’ for periods from 1 April 2012 onwards. Data is not currently held on the number of requests received or assessments carried out for an NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed period of care’ for periods from 1 April 2012 onwards.