Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Welfare Payments and Needs

Monday 19 October 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial benefit levels review resulted in a 1.7% uprating of welfare payments.
  • Disability benefits spending increased by almost 5% to 20 billion.
  • Three themes emerged from the review into access to benefits for the terminally ill: changing the six-month rule, improving consistency, and raising awareness of available support.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 James Davies Con
Benefits & Welfare
Context

By law, benefit levels must be reviewed annually. The most recent review resulted in a 1.7% uprating.

Question

What steps she is taking to ensure that the welfare payments that people receive meet the needs of the recipient?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

By law, benefit levels must be reviewed annually to determine if they are at the appropriate level. The most recent review resulted in the uprating of 1.7%. On disability benefits specifically, spending this year has increased by almost 5% from £19 billion to £20 billion.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific measures to ensure welfare payments meet recipient needs are not addressed.

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Q2 James Davies Con
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The questioner met his constituent, Tony Davies, who lives with motor neurone disease. The MND Association community seeks clarity on the review outcome.

Question

On behalf of Tony and the MND Association community, will the Minister kindly announce when he is likely to publish the outcome of the review into access to benefits for the terminally ill?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

We have been clear, following our comprehensive review, that there will be three themes: we will change the six-month rule, we will improve consistency and we will raise awareness of the support available. Only last week, I met the MND Association and the Minister for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care as we work at great speed to bring forward those much-needed changes.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific timeline for publishing the outcome is not provided.

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