Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Burgon this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 81–100 of 168 · this parliament
How many Personal Independence Payments recipients do not meet four points on a single descriptor for (a) arthritis, (b) cardiovascular diseases, (c) respiratory diseases, (d) multiple sclerosis and neuropathic diseases, (e) cancer, (f) cerebral palsy and neurological muscular diseases and (g) psychotic disorders.
The information you requested can be found in Table 2.28 in the Pathways to Work: Evidence Pack: Chapter 2.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Personal Independence Payments on helping disabled people into work.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our plans for reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and protect disabled people.The Office of Budget Responsibility has committed to produce an assessment of the labour market impacts of the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper at the time of the autumn budget.Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of disabled people who receive the standard rate of Personal Independence Payments and are expected to no longer receive PIP following the changes to eligibility.
By the time the proposed changes take effect in November 2026, it is expected that there will be 3.6 million working age people claiming PIP or Disability Living Allowance. The assessment of the Office for Budget Responsibility is that 370,000 claimants at implementation in November 2026 will lose their entitlement by 2029-30, or just over 10% of the PIP caseload in 2026-27.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of her proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people with (a) Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and (b) other fluctuating illnesses.
In January 2025, there were around 25,000 working age claimants in England and Wales that have their main disability recorded as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, excluding those treated under Special Rules for End of Life. Around 12,000 received less than 4 points across all daily living descriptors. The primary health conditions recorded on the PIP computer system are not classified according to whether they are fluctuating or not, therefore information can only be given for specified conditions.The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment looks at how a long-term health condition or disability impacts on daily life across 12 activities, taking into account fluctuations over a 12-month period. The activities are grouped into two components, daily living and mobility, and within each activity a descriptor must be chosen to score an individual depending on whether an individual can complete the activity, the manner in which they do it, and whether they can complete each activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period.The assessment is designed to reflect the impact of variations in an individual's needs for all health conditions, not only those which more typically fluctuate. Health conditions may be physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive, or any combination of these, and the assessment is designed to take a comprehensive approach to disability, reflecting the needs arising from the full range of impairments.Health professionals are expected to be mindful of the fact that many conditions fluctuate, producing symptoms that vary in intensity from mild to severe, and are instructed not to base their opinion solely on the situation as observed at the assessment. Health Professionals also have access to Condition Insight Reports (CIRs)/EBM Protocols which are developed specifically to enable them to gain further insight into clinical and functional information, relating to specific conditions.
What discussions her Department has had with disability organisations on the impact of (a) eligibility changes to Personal Independence Payment and (b) freezing the Universal Credit health element.
We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, to restore public trust and fairness in the system, and to protect disabled people. That is why we are bringing forward some reforms in a Bill, including the changes to PIP eligibility and Universal Credit rates. It is right that we do this via Primary Legislation so that Parliament can fully debate and vote on these changes. As we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms. We are consulting on how best we can support those who might lose entitlement to PIP, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. We have also launched a wider review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead, which will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. As we make changes to Universal Credit, we will ensure that we protect the incomes of the most severely disabled people, so they can live with dignity and security, while supporting those who can work to do so. Existing Universal Credit claims will also be protected by holding the health top up (LCWRA) steady in cash terms, while they will also benefit from the new higher standard allowance. This government strongly values the input of disabled people and representative organisations. Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have engaged with a number of disability organisations and other stakeholders, and we will continue to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives. We are now also hosting virtual and in-person public consultation events across the country to further facilitate input and voices of disabled people and stakeholders on the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation directly.
What estimate her Department has made of the number of people who (a) receive and (b) will receive (i) the daily living allowance and (ii) the enhanced Personal Independence Payment after the measures in her Pathways to Work Green Paper are enacted.
As a result of the PIP 4-point policy, in 29/30, we expect 1.1 million working age PIP claimants to receive the standard daily living component of PIP and 2.2 million working age PIP claimants to receive the enhanced daily living component. In the absence of the PIP 4-point policy, in 29/30 we would have expected 1.8 million working age PIP claimants to receive the standard daily living component of PIP and 2.3 million working age PIP claimants to receive the enhanced daily living component. As of January 2025, there are 2.9 million working-age claimants receiving a PIP daily living award.
What proportion of current Personal Independence Payments recipients do not meet four points on a single descriptor on the daily living activities assessment criteria.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
How many Personal Independence Payment claimants there are in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.
Data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be found on Stat Xplore. The requested data can be found in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ dataset. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required. For data on claimants in receipt of PIP by local authority area there is a pre-populated table with the latest data. For data by constituency, you can filter by using the ‘Geography’ filter to select ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituency 2024’. PIP has been devolved to Scotland since April 2020 and existing claims are currently being moved to the Scottish replacement benefit Adult Disability Payment.
What estimate his Department has made of the proportion of Personal Independence Payment recipients who use that payment to fund social care.
A Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to provide a tax-free, cash contribution to help people with a long-term health condition or disability with their additional, disability-related costs. It can be paid at one of eight rates, from between £29.20 and £187.45 a week, depending on the needs arising. It is not means-tested and can be paid in addition to any other support received. PIP can be used by the recipient according to their own needs and priorities.
With reference to paragraph 139 of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, for what reason it is her policy that people should no longer be eligible for the daily living component of the Personal Independence Payment if they need (a) assistance to be able to cut up food, (b) supervision or prompting to be able to wash or bathe, (c) assistance to be able to wash either their hair or body below the waist, (d) assistance to be able to get in or out of a bath or shower, (e) supervision or prompting to be able to manage toilet needs, (f) assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body and (g) supervision, prompting or assistance to be able to manage medication and, or, to be able to monitor a health condition.
We have committed to introducing a new requirement whereby, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, people must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.A high number of people get PIP by having multiple but low-level functional needs across several activities. These could individually be managed with small interventions or the addition of aids or appliances. This change will focus PIP more on those with the greatest needs, ensuring those who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them, still get support. Through the Green Paper we are consulting on how best to support those who may lose any entitlement because of this change.
What the total value is of grants provided by her Department under the Access to Work scheme in each financial year since 2020-21; and how much her Department plans to provide in the (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27 financial years.
The most recently available data on Access to Work (AtW) outturn expenditure is available in the Access to Work official statistics. Expenditure on Access to Work elements, for financial years 2020/21 to 2023/24 was: Financial year2020/212021/222022/232023/24Nominal Terms£106,624,000£147,717,000£179,679,000£255,171,000Real Terms (2023/24 prices)£120,536,000£167,867,000£190,777,000£255,171,000 This includes expenditure on all AtW elements, including the Mental Health Support Service (MHSS), but excludes expenditure on the Transitional Employer Support Grant (TESG). Further information on AtW expenditure, including breakdowns of expenditure by AtW element type, is published in the Access to Work official statistics and currently covers financial years 2007/08 through to 2023/24. The most recently available data on AtW grant expenditure forecast under the current policy is published here for 2025/26 and 2026/27: Access to Work grant expenditure forecasts - GOV.UK. These figures do not align with figures from the AtW official statistics as they exclude grant expenditure on MHSS and include expenditure on TESG. The department has budgeted £385m for grants in 2025/26 based on the current expenditure forecast. The budget for 2026/27 has not been set. The budget is subject to significant change due to the uncertainty in the forecast and based on affordability and departmental funding pressures
With reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, what estimate she has made of how much revenue will be raised by changes to the rules for (a) non-domiciled tax status, (b) capital gains tax and (c) inheritance tax in the 2025-26 financial year.
Estimates of the exchequer impact of measures announced at Autumn Budget 2024 can be found in table 5.1 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-2024. This includes the revenue raised in each year of the forecast period.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK continues to step up for Ukraine as new funding announced to bring war criminals to justice, published on 29 December 2024, if he will publish a summary of his Department's legal advice on war crimes committed by Russia during its war on Ukraine.
Since the start of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has recorded over 150,000 incidents of alleged war crimes committed during the conflict. The UK government is committed to supporting Ukraine in its efforts to document and investigate these atrocity crimes. As set out in our funding announcement of 29 December 2024, we are focussing efforts through practical support co-ordinated via the Atrocity Crimes Advisory group, established with our US and EU partners. We have also provided support to the International Criminal Court, which established its own investigation into the situation in Ukraine in March 2022, and been an active member of the Core Group of countries, working to explore options to establish a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
If she will open a public consultation on the measures not being consulted on in Annex A of her Department's Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025.
We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and protect disabled people. There are some measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the 18 March 2025 that we will not be consulting on. Key reforms to improve the system, such as our ‘Pathways to Work’ support offer, reducing assessments for those with severe conditions and recording assessments, are needed urgently and not consulted on in this Green Paper. This also includes changes to PIP. It is right that we bring this forward via Primary Legislation so that Parliament can fully debate and vote on these changes. In the Green Paper, we are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by this change, and we intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this.
What steps she is taking to ensure that people with multiple sclerosis are supported through the Personal Independence Payment system.
It is important that all claimants to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are able to access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying and communicating with the Department and its providers. We have a variety of reasonable adjustments to make the claims process and communications easier for some of our most vulnerable customers. The process is kept under continual review to ensure it meets the needs of claimants and helps the Department provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s entitlement. Since PIP was created, the Department has introduced, for example, dial-in-for third parties, a digital PIP 2 questionnaire and evidence upload function, email as a reasonable adjustment and telephone and video assessments in addition to paper-based and face-to-face assessments. In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we outline plans to improve the experience for people who use the health and disability benefits system, including exploring ways to use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe conditions to undergo a full PIP functional assessment. Over the longer term, the Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services to improve the customer experience. The Programme will transform the entire PIP service, introducing an option to apply and track applications online.We are exploring a case management model - a personalised approach for customers from initial contact through to the end of the application, including signposting to other benefits and services. This approach will help the Programme to better understand our customers, tailor their service, and help to build customer confidence and trust that their case is being progressed appropriately.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of welfare reform on people with multiple sclerosis.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
What steps she is taking to ensure that changes to the Work Capability Assessment prevent disabled people from entering poverty.
The Health and Disability Green Paper published on 18th March 2025 outlines why we think removing the Work Capability Assessment and moving to using an amended version of the PIP assessment to determine what financial support people receive for health and disability in the Universal Credit system is the correct decision for the reformed system. We will be publishing estimated impacts on claimants for the changes announced on 18 March 2025 on the day of the Spring Statement or shortly after. We understand that for some people, work is simply not possible. We will work through how, without a WCA, these people can be identified and appropriate protections put in place, such as considering award reviews. Engagement with employment support will be determined on a personal basis, according to needs. Following the Green Paper consultation, we will bring forwards a White Paper in autumn 2025 to set out our full proposals.
With reference to his comments in an interview on the BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme on 16 March 2025, on what evidential basis he said that there is an overdiagnosis of mental health conditions; and if he will publish the evidence used to make those comments.
There is no doubt that many people are genuinely struggling with poor mental health and wellbeing. The Government is committed to reducing mental ill-health through earlier intervention and prevention. Some clinicians argue that there has been an increase in the diagnosis of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions linked to changes in interpretation of, or ambiguity in, diagnostic criteria. We are committed to take an evidence-based approach to policymaking, and to hear input to reflect the range of views on this issue.Through our work to reform the National Health Service, we are determined to ensure that people with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions get the right support, at the right time.The Government is committed to shifting care from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention and, by doing so, creating supportive structures which build mental resilience and wellbeing for those who are struggling with their mental health. Similarly, for those with suspected or diagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions, the optimal approach is often to identify and meet needs early in life, and support and empower individuals. Of course, some people benefit from a diagnosis and some from clinical treatment. However, for these people and many others, early effective support may be more important than a clinical diagnosis.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in official development assistance on the UK contribution to international climate finance.
The impact on international climate finance is being worked through following the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of GNI today to 0.3 per cent in 2027. We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money and will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation process.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to spend at least £1 billion on humanitarian aid in each year of this Parliament.
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact, and value for money.