Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department takes to ensure that reviews of Personal Independent Payment claims for people with complex and chronic health conditions consider the (a) overlap between multiple health issues and (b) the potential impact this overlap has on people's (i) mental health and (ii) ability to work.

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment, at both new claim and award review, considers the impact of an individual’s health condition(s) or disability on their daily living and mobility rather than being based on the health condition itself. Individuals can be affected in different ways by the same condition, and be dealing with multiple health issues, so the outcome of a PIP claim depends very much on individual circumstances.

Health conditions may be physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive, or any combination of these, and the assessment has been designed to take a comprehensive approach to disability, reflecting the needs arising from the full range of conditions.

The assessment criteria are focused on an individual’s ability to carry out a series of key everyday activities which are fundamental to living an independent life. PIP is available whether an individual is in or out of work, education or training.

In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March I outlined plans to launch a review of the PIP assessment. Through the review, I want to make sure the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. This includes considering the PIP assessment criteria – including descriptors – and how the PIP assessment can play a role in unlocking wider support to enable better health, good work, higher living standards and greater independence. Additionally, the Government is legislating to encourage those on health benefits to try work by legislating to guarantee that work in and of itself will never lead to a reassessment.