There are 3 levels of impairment components within Income Support to compensate illnesses and disabilities applicants for these components should not have their benefits reduced
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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 23rd MARCH 2010
Question
"Given that the 3 levels of impairment component in Income Support are there to compensate those with an illness or disability for the increased costs of their condition, would the Minister confirm that successful applicants for these components should not have their benefits reduced through consequent reductions in other components?
What actions, if any, and in what timescale, will he take to correct this anomaly in the system and, if none, why not?"
Answer
To clarify, there are three elements of the Income Support (IS) impairment component which provide financial assistance at different levels, depending on the nature and severity of the person's condition, towards the following costs:
Clinical cost - General practitioner visits for people with chronic or progressive medical conditions P e rsonal care – Care needs - for example: washing, dressing, cooking
Mobility – Transport for people with a medical condition that seriously affects their ability to get around outdoors
The table below details the component type and the weekly rate from 1 October 2009.
Impairment component types Weekly rate Personal care level 1 £22.26 Personal care level 2 £98.14 Personal care level 3 £140.91 Mobility (working person) £44.52 Mobility £22.26
Clinical cost level 1 (5+ annual consultations) £2.87 Clinical cost level 2 (9+ annual consultations) £5.74
The IS benefit for an IS unit is the difference between the total of all the relevant components for the IS unit and the calculated income of the IS unit.
I can confirm that successful applicants for personal care components do not have their IS benefit entitlement reduced through consequent reductions in other components, and therefore there is no anomaly to be addressed.