Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on the national disability strategy of the recommendations in Muscular Dystrophy UK’s report on disability benefits, entitled Below standard.

The Department places a strong emphasis on engaging with stakeholders to inform health and disability policy to ensure we are addressing the right problems in the welfare system. Muscular Dystrophy UK’s report entitled ‘Below standard: MDUK’s assessment of the benefits system’ offers insights into the challenges faced by people living with muscle-wasting conditions.

Government will reflect carefully on these findings as part of the National Disability Strategy, which will be published by the end of the year, and in the DWP Green Paper on health and disability benefits and support.