Employment and Support Allowance: Radiotherapy

Mark Williams
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the operation of the employment and support allowance will include criteria relating to those experiencing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Mr. Timms
Claimants receiving intravenous, intraperitoneal or intrathecal chemotherapy or recovering from that treatment, will be automatically treated as having limited capability for work and so be entitled to employment and support allowance without the need to undertake a work capability assessment. These claimants will also be automatically treated as having limited capability for work-related activity and so will be placed in the support group for employment and support allowance and receive a higher rate of that benefit.

Claimants receiving radiotherapy will also be treated as having limited capability for work in any week when they are having treatment or recovering from treatment.

Claimants undergoing other forms of chemotherapy, or who are between courses of radiotherapy, will have their entitlement to employment and support allowance individually assessed on the basis of the effect their illness or treatment has on their physical or mental function. Depending on the severity of those effects they may be assessed as being entitled to the work-related component or the support component of employment and support allowance.