MP’s plea on final day of Parliament to fix benefit system for the dying

 

In Parliament today, Jessica Morden MP will make a plea to the UK Government to fix the benefits system for terminally ill people.   

The Newport East MP will bring a Ten Minute Rule Bill to the House of Commons this afternoon, which will seek to scrap a law which means that thousands of dying people are not receiving the financial support they need, and in extreme cases some are being sent to ‘back to work’ coaching sessions. 

The Bill is being read today – the last day before the House of Commons rises for summer recess – more than a year since the Department for Work and Pensions pledged to review the benefits system for terminally ill people. The Government’s own data shows that for every day the review is delayed, as many as ten people may be dying while waiting for their benefits.  

Jessica Morden MP is supporting the ‘Scrap 6 Months’ campaign from the charities Marie Curie and the Motor Neurone Disease Association, who are calling for a change in the law so that all dying people can get fast, easy access to benefits.   

Currently, terminally ill people can only get fast track access to financial support if they are told they have six months or less to live, yet many have unpredictable illnesses and health care professionals cannot always accurately predict when they will die, meaning they miss out on support under the current law.  

Ahead of reading the Bill, Jessica Morden MP said: 

 “The last thing anybody who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness wants is to waste the precious time they have left with their family grappling with the benefits system.  However, people who receive that earth-shattering news are having extra torment put upon them because of a law which a Parliamentary review has already deemed to be cruel and unfit for purpose. 

 “The bill I'm introducing later today aims to push the government to remove outdated rules on access to benefits for people living with terminal illness, and confront the human impact of these policies on vulnerable people.”

 Helen Nicell is living with stage-four terminal breast cancer and has found the process of applying for PIP exhausting and stressful.  She said:  “At a time when you don’t need extra stress and should be making the most of the time you have, the process of applying for the benefits, which should support you at such a vital time, is so time-consuming and uncertain. I’ve got terminal cancer and can no longer work. I believed I would be supported when I most needed it. 

“Completing the forms has an impact on your life, living with a terminal illness can make you tired and drugs can affect your concentration, so trying to ensure you have plenty of time to complete the forms before various deadlines is also a big part of the problem.

“As an example, my PIP was due for review in January 2020, I completed the 14 pages of paperwork on time. I finally heard in July that all reviews were suspended due to COVID 19 and mine was now on hold until December 2020, almost a year overdue. This is not acceptable for anyone, but especially for those with life-limiting illnesses.

“I want the system to be improved - if somebody has got a terminal illness and they’re unable to work, they should be supported. 

“It is inhumane to make people who have a terminal diagnosis or a life limiting illness  go through these hoops, and I welcome the work Marie Curie and the MND Association are doing to highlight this awful process and call for a change to make life easier for those who don’t have much time left.”

Simon Jones, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, at Marie Curie, said:  

“It is more than a year since the UK Government promised to review the benefits system for terminally ill people. We had been hopeful that this review would be conducted in a timely manner but here we are, over a year later on the day Parliament rises for summer recess, and sadly there is no review in sight. We hope Jessica’s bill focuses the Government’s mind on the urgency of this issue for thousands of people across the country. 

 “It is important to acknowledge the people who have died since this campaign began. As a charity, we feel a responsibility to the public we serve to remind the Government that more people will die in financial hardship everyday this review is delayed.” 

 Sally Light, Chief Executive of the MND Association, said:

 “More than 2,000 people have died from MND since the DWP announced its terminal illness review last July, many struggling to access the benefits they desperately need. The Government has been dragging its heels over this review and, with the summer recess almost upon us, we face yet another delay.

 “We welcome Jessica Morden’s Bill which, once again, highlights a system that is unworkable and unfair. We hope it will encourage the Government to publish its review urgently. Too many people with MND spend their final months fighting for benefits – reform is urgently needed to ensure a fair and compassionate system to support people living with a terminal illness.”

 Earlier this month in a landmark case in Northern Ireland, a judge deemed that the different treatment of terminally ill people who do not meet the six-month life expectancy criteria is discriminatory.  

 The judge described it as “manifestly without reasonable foundation” in a case brought by a woman with motor neurone disease who faced barriers and delays to accessing benefits despite being terminally ill. The Scottish Government pledged to change the law for devolved benefits last year, creating an unjust two-tier system across the UK. 

When surveyed by YouGov, 85% of people agreed that everyone who has a terminal illness should have quick and easy access to benefits, with 80% of people agreeing that someone who has a terminal illness should not be expected to look for work or have their capacity for work assessed. 

 

-ends-