§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what checks the Government have in place continually to assess a person's eligibility for the disability living allowance in order to protect the system against fraudulent claims. [141960]
§ Mr. PondThe DLA Periodic Enquiry has introduced checks of Disability Living Allowance awards to ensure that those entitled to the benefit receive, and continue to receive, their correct entitlement, although it is not regarded primarily as an anti fraud measure.
The process involves gathering up-to-date evidence about the customer's care and mobility needs, and making adjustments to the award of the benefit where appropriate. Changes in awards may be appropriate for example where the customer's condition improves or worsens, or where they adapt to their disability and therefore have fewer needs. Since the inception of Periodic Enquiry, 70 per cent. of the cases examined have resulted in no change to entitlement. Of the 30 per cent. of cases where the level of entitlement changed, two thirds resulted in entitlement to a higher level of award and in the remaining one third of cases entitlement either reduced or was extinguished altogether.