Findings from the evaluation of the Special Rules for Terminal Illness process
This report represents the findings from the Department for Work and Pension’s evaluation into how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their lives.
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People nearing the end of their lives are able to access the benefits system through the Special Rules for Terminal Illness. The Special Rules for Terminal Illness allow the Department for Work and Pensions to provide fast-track support in five benefits; Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance, without the requirement for waiting periods or a face-to-face assessment, with awards usually at the highest rate of benefit. The Special Rules for Terminal Illness recognise that when people are faced with the end of their life, their focus should, as far as possible, be on the time they have remaining and have been in place in their current form without alteration by successive governments since 1990.
The purpose of the evaluation was to give the Department for Work and Pensions the opportunity to take a fresh look at the support it provides through the benefits system and the way it’s delivered. The evaluation considered the views of people and groups involved in the application of or dependent on the Special Rules for Terminal Illness, with the aim of providing a holistic view of the support currently provided and whether it could be changed or improved.
Following the evaluation, the government announced the intention to move to a 12-month, end of life eligibility definition for the Special Rules. When implemented, those who are thought to be in their final year of life will be able to make fast-tracked claims to the benefits system.