Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) in the last five years, how many people with Huntington's disease (i) made a claim for Personal Independence Payment, (ii) were refused and (iii) were successful on appeal; (b) what was the cost of those successful appeals; (c) in the last five years, how many people with Huntington's disease in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (i) were reassessed, (ii) were declined and (iii) were successful on appeal; and (d) what was the cost of those reapplications and successful appeals.

a) Based on initial decisions made in the last five years (01 July 2017 to 30 June 2022), for claimants whose primary disabling condition at initial assessment is Huntington’s disease:

i) 1,900 claimants made a claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP);

ii) Of these, 330 claimants were disallowed post assessment; and

iii) Of these who had their decision initially disallowed, 50 claimants had an appeal lapsed or overturned at tribunal.

b) The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

c) Based on initial decisions made in the last five years (01 July 2017 to 30 June 2022), for claimants whose primary disabling condition at initial assessment is Huntington’s disease:

i) 700 claimants had their PIP award reviewed because of a planned award review or change of circumstance;

ii) Of these, 30 claimants were disallowed post assessment; and

iii) Of these who had their decision initially disallowed, 10 claimants had an appeal lapsed or overturned at tribunal.

d) The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Please note:

• Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
• Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based, but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.
• We have provided data for England and Wales (excluding Scotland) in line with the latest published figures on PIP.
• These figures include initial decisions following assessment for PIP New Claims and Reassessments from 01 July 2017 up to 30 June 2022, the latest date for which published data is available.
• These figures include appeal decisions at a tribunal hearing up to 31 September 2022, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more appeals could be made and completed after September 2022, so numbers could go up as it can take some time for an appeal to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision.

• Figures in part c) are unpublished and may be subject to future revisions.
• Prior to tribunal appeal, claimants must have requested a mandatory reconsideration (MR) from the DWP. Some of those disallowed following assessment will have their decision changed at this stage and take the dispute no further. In some cases, a claimant who has their disallowed decision changed at MR will continue to appeal for a higher PIP award, and these cases could be included in the figures reported.
• A lapsed appeal is where the DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged, but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing.