Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 17 January 2017 to Question 59783 and 59784, on personal independence payment: motability, what the (a) estimated cost was to his Department of answering those Questions, (b) maximum amount his Department will spend on an Answer, (c) average cost to his Department per Answer and (d) maximum and minimum amount spent on answering a Question was in the last 12 months.

a)

In order to answer the hon. Member’s question 59783, “how many people who were previously in receipt of the enhanced personal independence payment and qualified for the Motability scheme have since been reassessed and lost their Motability vehicle”, would require the linking together of several complex datasets and quality assurance of the results. It is estimated that this would take in excess of 5 working days and would therefore exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £850.

The information requested by the hon. Member’s question 59784, “how many people who were previously in receipt of the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance and qualified for the Motability scheme, have been reassessed and lost their Motability vehicle”, is not included in datasets underpinning routine publication of benefit statistics. It is estimated that, to access the original datasets and carry out the necessary quality assurance, would take in excess of 5 working days and similarly would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £850.

b) and c)

The disproportionate cost threshold of £850 and the average cost of written parliamentary questions of £164 were determined by HM Treasury and notified to Parliament by written statement by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 8 February 2012. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2012-02-08/debates/12020833000014/ParliamentaryQuestions?highlight=disproportionate%20cost%20threshold#contribution-12020833000033

d)

The information requested is not held.