Marie Curie response to Welfare Bill

Marie Curie is pleased that Madeleine Moon MP’s Access to Welfare Bill has successfully passed its first reading in the House of Commons today. 

Currently, people with a terminal illness must be certified by a clinician as having six months left to live before they can be considered terminally ill and given fast-track access to the benefits they need to live well until they die. This Bill will allow medical professionals to determine when someone should be considered terminally ill by the state.

Under the existing criteria (or ‘special rules’), thousands of people with a terminal illness are forced to apply for benefits that they desperately need through the standard rules. This means that they are subject to assessments of their capability to work and can be forced to travel long distances to have their capacity assessed. This is wholly inappropriate for people who are dying.  

This impacts heavily on people with non-cancer terminal conditions, such as motor neurone disease, where it is very difficult for a clinician to predict how close to death the patient is. 91% of people who are able to claim benefits on the special rules are people who have terminal cancer, despite cancer deaths making up only 30 per cent of all deaths.  

The new Access to Welfare Bill seeks to reflect the changes to the definition of terminal illness recently announced in Scotland. The Scottish Government has agreed to remove the time limit, of having a life expectancy of six months or less, for someone to be considered as ‘terminal’.  Instead, the clinical judgement of a medical professional will determine whether a person is terminally ill. 

Scott Sinclair, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for England at Marie Curie, said:

“It is a disgrace that thousands of terminally ill people are subjected to bureaucratic processes designed to get them back into work when they are dying.   

“The current welfare system for terminally ill people is unfair and outdated, and results in cruel and distressing treatment for people who are at the end of their lives. Nobody with a terminal illness should have to face multiple assessments and back-to-work interviews when the stark fact is that they are dying and have limited time left.

“We strongly support the Bill and look forward to working with Madeline Moon MP and others to push for a change that will enable all terminally ill people to be treated with the compassion and dignity they deserve.

“The Government must see that this is a common sense change that will safeguard people affected by terminal illness against cruelty and distress at a time when they are most vulnerable.”

Craig Harrison, Policy and Public Affairs Officer for Marie Curie Northern Ireland, said:

“Under the current system, terminally-ill people in Northern Ireland are being denied the compassion and dignity they deserve. With no sitting Assembly in Stormont, we’re pleased to see this important issue on the Westminster agenda. We look forward to working further with our local MPs on this vital issue.”