Earlier this year, the Scottish Government announced that 19 projects supporting people with neurological conditions are to benefit from a third round of funding. As part of a five-year neurological care and support action plan, innovative projects which harness new techniques and technology will be helped with £1 million commissioned for work across Scotland.
The award for 2022 to 2023 will also continue to support earlier projects as well as invest in new schemes. These include a collaborative bid from the Migraine Trust and NHS Grampian to work with community, primary and secondary care pharmacists to help people with migraine manage their symptoms and treatments more effectively.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Partnership Delivery Group will also receive more than £100,000 to meet key Neurological Care and Support Framework commitments - helping people to live well and improving patient experience. Epilepsy Scotland will receive more than £40,000 to improve mental health outcomes for people with epilepsy - a full list of projects can be found here.
The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that at the end of April, 2022 there were nearly three million people across the UK claiming support through Personal Independence Payments (PIP), with just over one in three claimants (35%) receiving the highest level of award.
Of the overall total, 320,000 people living in Scotland are now receiving financial support of between £24.45 and £156.90 each week and as the benefit is paid every four weeks, this amounts to between £97.80 and £627.60 every payment period. People in Scotland making a new claim for PIP may be redirected to apply for the new devolved benefit - Adult Disability Payment - instead, read more about this here.
The new data also revealed that there are now 384,832 people receiving support through PIP for 70 neurological conditions.
This includes:
- Scotland: 41,263 claimants
- England: 317,583 claimants
- Wales: 25,984 claimants
Even though PIP is being replaced in Scotland by the Adult Disability Payment, it will follow the same eligibility criteria, but take a more people-centred approach, according to Social Security Scotland.
Below is a simplified guide to the terminology used by the DWP with an explanation of the elements involved in a PIP claim including components, rates and how the application is scored, which in turn determines the level of award a person receives.
Financial support for people with neurological conditions
People over 16 and under State Pension age
PIP and Adult Disability Payments are benefits for working adults who need extra help because of an illness, disability or mental health condition.
PIP payment rates 2022/23
Daily Living Component
- Enhanced: £92.40
- Standard: £61.85
Mobility Component
- Enhanced: £64.50
- Standard: £24.45
Find out more about claiming PIP here and ADP here.
People who have reached State Pension age
People of State Pension age or over are also receiving support for a neurological condition through Attendance Allowance.
The most recent data shows that 26,802 older people across the UK are getting financial support of either £61.85 or £92.40 each week from the DWP, depending on the level of support needed during the day or night.
This includes:
- 2,373 claimants living in Scotland
- 22,699 claimants living in England
- 1,646 claimants living in Wales
- 84 claimants living abroad
Attendance Allowance helps with extra costs if you have a physical or mental health condition, disability or illness severe enough that makes it hard for you to look after yourself, but it does not cover mobility needs.
You do not need to have someone caring for you in order to make a claim.
Find out more about Attendance Allowance here.
Neurological conditions supported through PIP, ADP and Attendance Allowance
This is the list of 70 neurological conditions being supported through PIP, ADP or Attendance Allowance.
A claimant’s main disabling or medical condition is recorded during their assessment. The categories and groupings are based on DWP data.
Cerebrovascular disease
- Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
- Cerebrovascular disease - Other / type not known
- Transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs)
Epilepsy
- Cataplexy
- Generalised seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Generalised seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Narcolepsy
- Partial seizures (with status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Partial seizures (without status epilepticus in last 12 months)
- Seizures - unclassified
Non epileptic disturbance of consciousness
- Disturbances of consciousness - Non-epileptic - Other / type not known
- Drop attacks
- Non epileptic Attack disorder (pseudoseizures)
- Stokes Adams attacks (cardiovascular syncope)
- Syncope - Other / type not known
Movement disorders
- Blepharospasm
- Essential tremor - benign
- Huntington's disease
- Movement disorders - Other / type not known
- Parkinson's disease
- Parkinson's syndrome / Parkinsonism
- Torticollis
- Tourette's syndrome
- Writer's cramp
Multiple sclerosis
Benign tumours
- Neurofibromatosis
- Tumours - benign - Other / type not known
Hydrocephalus
Headache
- Dizziness - cause not specified
- Headache - Other causes of / cause not known
- Migraine
Head injury
- Head injury - Cognitive and sensorimotor impairment
- Head injury - Cognitive impairment
- Head injury - Sensorimotor impairment
Spinal cord compression
- Paraplegia (traumatic)
- Spinal cord compression - Other causes of / cause not known
- Syringomyelia / Syringobulbia
- Tetraplegia (traumatic)
Degenerative neuronal diseases
- Degenerative neuronal diseases - Other / type not known
- Motor neurone disease
Cerebral palsy
- Cerebral palsy - Ataxic
- Cerebral palsy - Athetoid
- Cerebral palsy - Diplegic
- Cerebral palsy - Hemiplegic
- Cerebral palsy - Other / type not known
- Cerebral palsy - Quadriplegic
Spina bifida
Ataxia
- Ataxia - Friedrich's
- Ataxias - Other / type not known
Neuropathy
- Charcot Marie Tooth disease
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Guillain Barre syndrome
- Neuropathies - Other / type not known including peripheral
Peripheral nerve injury
- Brachial plexus
- Peripheral nerve injury - Other / type not known
Disease of muscle
- Dermatomyositis
- Dystrophia myotonica
- Muscle - Other diseases of / type not known
- Myasthenia gravis
- Polymyositis
Muscular dystrophy
- Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy
- Muscular dystrophy - Becker type
- Muscular dystrophy - Duchenne
- Muscular dystrophy - limb girdle
- Muscular dystrophy - Other / type not known
Infections
- Creutzfeldt - Jacob disease (CJD)
- Infections - Other
- Poliomyelitis and post polio syndrome
- Prion diseases - Other / type not known
Other neurological disorders
- Neurological disorders - Other / type not known
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