Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To Ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that people with Parkinson's disease who undertake therapeutic exercise are not disadvantaged (a) when applying for and (b) if they are in receipt of employment and support allowance or personal independence payments.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is designed to treat people as individuals, considering the impact of their impairment or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability. The assessment considers all available evidence, including whether an activity can be performed safely to an acceptable standard repeatedly and in a reasonable time period. This principle applies to all claimants, including claimants with Parkinson’s Disease.

Entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance is not based on an individual’s diagnosis or the nature of their particular disabling condition, but rather on the way that condition limits their ability to function. The Work Capability Assessment assesses the effects of a person’s condition on their ability to carry out a number of everyday activities.

ESA has been designed to take full account of progressive conditions such as Parkinson’s. If an individual has a progressive health condition, the Health Care Professional takes this into consideration when providing advice to the Decision Maker.