Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the five options set out in pages nine to 12 of his Department's Consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of Personal Independence Payments, Cm 9171, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will lose entitlement to personal independence payment under each of the five options in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18 and (d) 2018-19; and what estimate he has made of how much his Department will not pay in benefit payments under each option in each such year.

The Department is currently running a consultation to seek views on how support can best be provided to help meet the costs of disability faced by people who are currently awarded points due to aids and appliances. The department is keen to hear views from all interested parties, especially disabled people and disability organisations.

No decision has been made as to whether there should be any changes to the current system. If changes were to be made, the Department does not have any preference between the 5 options presented in the consultation and welcomes additional suggestions. Furthermore, these options are not mutually exclusive and could be combined, in whole or in part.

If the Department were to decide to change the current system, in line with the Department’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010, a full Equality Analysis would be conducted and considered prior to a final decision being made.