Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) qualifying period and (b) delays in processing applications for disability benefits on carers of children and young people with cancer who are unable to apply for (i) carers benefits and (ii) other associated support until the disability benefits have been awarded.

The information requested on the number of delayed applications is not collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

It is a long standing principle that Carer’s Allowance can only be awarded once a decision has been made to award the “trigger” disability benefit to the person being cared for, but the award of Carer’s Allowance can be backdated to the date that the disability benefit is payable from.