Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Personal Independent Payment assessors using informal observations for claimants with Parkinson's disease on the number of mandatory reconsiderations.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We have not made such an assessment.
Entitlement to PIP is assessed based on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself. The PIP Assessment Guide, used by health professionals who conduct PIP assessments, sets out how informal observations of functional limitations should be used.
Informal observations can be a way to reveal abilities and limitations not mentioned in the claimant questionnaire. However, they are only part of the suite of evidence considered by health professionals during an assessment. They must also consider the invisible nature of some symptoms such as fatigue and pain, which may be less easy to identify through observation.
Informal observations included in a health professional’s advice to DWP are not viewed in isolation, they are considered alongside all other available evidence to determine PIP entitlement.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the training provided to Personal Independence Payment assessors on helping claimants with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Health Professionals (HPs) receive comprehensive training in assessing functional capability relating to physical and mental health conditions, including Parkinson's disease. Condition specific information on Parkinson’s disease is also available to HPs, which has been quality assured by relevant external experts.
Assessment quality is a priority for both providers and the department. The department works extensively with providers to make improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures, to ensure a high standard is always maintained. The independent audit function continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the underpayment rate of personal independence payments for people with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
No such estimate has been made. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability. Entitlement is assessed based on the needs arising from the health condition or disability, rather than a diagnosis of the health condition or disability itself. Any information that a claimant wishes to submit in support of their claim can be considered where that would help establish the needs arising.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available for people with Parkinson’s disease with (a) gas and electricity bills, (b) food and (c) additional targeted support.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges, especially to the most vulnerable members of society such as disabled people and people with long-term health conditions like Parkinson’s disease.
The Government extended energy support by keeping the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) at £2,500 from April through to June, saving the average household an additional £160. This brings the total Government support for energy bills to £1,500 for a typical household since October 2022.
If individuals have extra-costs arising from their Parkinson’s disease, then they may qualify for disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA). If eligible for these benefits as a result of their Parkinson’s disease, individuals may have also been eligible for the two £150 Disability Cost of Living Payments the Government has delivered in 2022 and 2023.
Those in need of further assistance may be able to access additional support through the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England. This allows Local Authorities to provide crisis support to vulnerable households, such as through supermarket vouchers or partnering with food banks. The Government has provided £1bn, including Barnett funding for the Devolved Administrations, to deliver the HSF this financial year.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure people with (a) Parkinson's disease and (b) similar conditions do not suffer financial hardship due to increases in energy and living costs.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government understands the pressures people, including those with Parkinson’s Disease and similar conditions, are facing with the cost of living. People living with Parkinson’s disease may be entitled to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is a contribution towards the extra costs associated with being disabled. PIP is paid tax free and can be worth up to £8,983 a year. Recipients are free to choose how they spend PIP, and there is no requirement for them to use it for any particular purpose. Entitlement to PIP depends on the effects that a disability or health condition has on a disabled person’s life, and not on a particular disability or diagnosis.
PIP can passport to a range of additional support, including:
PIP also exempts the eligible household from the Benefit Cap.
In April, we uprated benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, the Benefit Cap levels also increased by the same amount.
In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments across the 2023/24 financial year, with the first payment of £301 having recently been made. A separate £150 payment will be made to individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits, including PIP, from 20 June. Further to this, the Energy Price Guarantee will be extended from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, meaning a typical household bill will be around £3,000 per year in Great Britain.
The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows local authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The guidance for local authorities for this next iteration has now been published and can be found here: '1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England' - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The devolved administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the mental health of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to supporting everyone’s mental health and wellbeing and ensuring that the right support is in place, including for those with long term physical health conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.
The National Health Service recognises that two-thirds of people with a common mental health problem also have a long-term physical health problem, and that integrating talking and psychological therapy services with physical health services can provide better support and achieve better outcomes. All local commissioners are expected to commission NHS talking therapies which are integrated into physical healthcare pathways.
The Government announced on 24 January 2023 that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy, with mental health as one of the conditions covered. This will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. We will cover the patient pathway from prevention to treatment and set out the standards patient should expect in the short term and over a five-year timeframe.
Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the Major Conditions Strategy will promote the importance of integrated physical and mental health treatment for people with long-term conditions such as diabetes and Parkinson's Disease.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Major Conditions Strategy will tackle groups of conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including cancers, cardiovascular disease including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions.
Dementia, rather than other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, has been identified because it is the leading cause of death in women and the second biggest cause of death for men.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people with Parkinson's Disease do not enter poverty due to the cost of energy bills in winter 2023-24.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Autumn Statement set out a commitment to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024. As part of this work, the Government is working with disability organisations, assessing the need for specific support for disabled people.
Officials are considering the options and proactively discussing these with stakeholders. In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include projections of the numbers of mental health staff that will be recruited to support people with Parkinson’s in the NHS workforce plan.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
To support the workforce as a whole, we have commissioned NHS England to develop a Long Term Workforce Plan, which will include independently verified forecasts for the number of healthcare professionals required in future years. The Plan is for the whole of the National Health Service workforce, including mental health, however, it will not provide detailed workforce assessments for individual services or staff groups.
The NHS mental health workforce has grown. Latest data shows that, as of December 2022, there has been an increase of over 8,900, 6.9%, full-time equivalent staff compared to December 2021. This includes only those people who work directly on mental health, across NHS trusts and integrated care boards in England.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health support available for people with Parkinson's in Cheshire and Merseyside integrated care systems area; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made.