Work and Pensions Committee

Select Committee Announcement

12 July 2011

For Immediate Release:

AN46 2010–12

NEW INQUIRY

Proposal to replace DLA with Personal Independence Payment

The Government set out its proposals to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for working-age claimants with a new benefit: the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a Green Paper, Disability Living Allowance reform, published in December 2010.

The Government stated that the purpose of the proposed benefit will remain the same — to “contribute to the extra costs of overcoming the barriers faced by disabled people to lead full and active lives”. The benefit will also remain non-means tested and non-taxable, payment will not be dependent on claimants having paid sufficient National Insurance contributions, it will be payable regardless of employment status and it will continue to act as a gateway to other benefits such as Carers Allowance and the Motability Scheme.

The Government believes that the introduction of PIP will lead to an increased focus on those with the greatest needs; and a reduction in caseload and expenditure, achieved by revising the eligibility criteria and introducing an objective assessment for eligibility. Other key changes include: ending automatic entitlement for certain conditions and impairments; regular review of all awards; two rates in the “daily living” component (rather than three in the “care” component of DLA); and extending the qualifying period to six months.

The Government published its response to the consultation on the Green Paper proposals in April 2011. PIP will be introduced for all working-age claimants from 2013 (subject to the passage of the Welfare Reform Bill currently going through its parliamentary stages).

The Work and Pensions Committee has decided to conduct an inquiry into the PIP proposals which will focus on the following issues:

• The need for DLA reform, including: how well understood DLA is; why the DLA caseload and expenditure has increased; the effectiveness of the decision-making and review process for DLA.
• The implications of a reduction in expenditure, including: the implications of focusing on those with the greatest needs; the likely impact of having only two rates of PIP in the ‘daily living’ component; the number of current DLA recipients who would not be eligible for PIP.
• The extent to which overlaps in funding exist, particularly with local authority and NHS funding, and including for people in residential care or hospital.
• Whether automatic entitlement should apply to people with some conditions or impairments and whether some people should receive awards for indefinite periods.
• The implications of a six month qualifying period.
• The extent to which PIP will act as a gateway to other benefits, including Carers Allowance and the Motability Scheme.
• The design of the PIP assessment, including: the assessment criteria and design; whether the assessment can objectively assess those with mental, intellectual and cognitive conditions and with fluctuating conditions; and the extent to which aids and appliances should be taken into account in the assessment.
• The delivery of the PIP assessment, including: who should carry it out; the approach to tendering for the assessment contract; who should make the award decisions;  whether there are  lessons to be learned from the Harrington Review of the Work Capability Assessment; and interaction with other eligibility assessments.
• How DLA/PIP should apply to children and people over the state pension age
• The steps DWP needs to take to ensure that its reform proposals are clearly and effectively communicated to claimants and the general public.

• Transitional arrangements

Short submissions (no more than 3,000 words) are invited from interested organisations and individuals.

The deadline for written evidence is Friday 2 September 2011.

How to submit your evidence

• Contributors should feel no obligation to comment on all the issues raised above, but should focus on those areas in which they have particular expertise or interest.

• Submissions should be in Word or rich text format, not PDF format, and sent by email to workpencom@parliament.uk  The body of the email must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The email should also make clear who the submission is from. Hard copy submissions should be sent to: The Work and Pensions Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA.

• Submissions should be in the format of a self-contained piece of written evidence. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include a summary. For further guidance on the submission of evidence see

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/witnessguide.pdf

• Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Material already published elsewhere may be referred to within a proposed piece of written evidence, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.

• Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. It is the Committee’s decision whether or not to accept a submission as formal written evidence.

• Please bear in mind that the Committee cannot investigate individual cases.

• The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet (where it will be accessible by search engines) or by making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

• For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Further information

Committee membership:  Dame Anne Begg MP (Chair) (Lab, Aberdeen South), Debbie Abrahams MP (Lab, Oldham East and Saddleworth), Harriett Baldwin MP (Con, West Worcestershire), Andrew Bingham MP (Con, High Peak), Karen Bradley MP (Con, Staffordshire Moorlands), Kate Green MP (Lab, Stretford and Urmston), Mr Oliver Heald MP (Con, North East Hertfordshire), Glenda Jackson MP (Lab, Hampstead and Highgate), Brandon Lewis MP, (Con, Great Yarmouth), Stephen Lloyd MP (Lib Dem, Eastbourne), Teresa Pearce MP (Lab, Erith and Thamesmead)

Specific Committee Information:  workpencom@parliament.uk 020 7219 5832

Media Information: Jessica Bridges-Palmer  bridgespalmerj@parliament.uk 020 7219 0724

Committee Website: www.parliament.uk/workpencom

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