Social Security Benefits: Terminal Illnesses
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care’s report entitled Inquiry into the financial impact of a terminal diagnosis, published on 9 September 2025; and what steps he will take in response to those recommendations.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
The Department supports people nearing the end of life through the Special Rules for End of Life. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
The Universal Credit Act 2025, ensures that all Special Rules for End of Life claimants will receive the higher LCWRA rate, no matter when they make their claim.
The Department values the insights and perspectives provided by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hospice and End of Life Care and has noted the recommendations made in the report.
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