Impairment Component of Income Support (FOI)

Request

I would like to ask the following questions about the impairment component of Income Support:

A 

How many households in Jersey are currently in receipt of any element of the impairment component of Income Support? 

B

How many households in Jersey are currently in receipt of the clinical cost element of impairment component at either rate?

C

How many households in Jersey are currently in receipt of the mobility element of impairment component at either rate?

D

How many households in Jersey are currently in receipt of the personal care element of impairment component at any rate? Please may you also provide a breakdown of the number of households receiving the personal care element of impairment component at each of the four rates (i.e. £21.00, £86.10, £126.56 and £435.72).

E

What is the average time a household waits between applying for any element of the impairment component of Income Support and receiving a decision over the last 18 months?

F 

How many households have appealed a decision made regarding any element of their impairment component in the last 18 months? How many of these appeals resulted in a decision being changed?

G

What is the average time a household waits between a review being initiated for any element of their impairment component of income support and receiving a decision over the last 18 months?

Response

Data is published in relation to the impairment components, which shows the household composition and how many people within the various households are in receipt of impairment components. The latest data was published on the 31.12.2023.

Answers for questions A-D are all taken from the published data set, which can be found following this link.

Income Support Statistics - Income Support Health Components - Government of Jersey Open Data​

The Freedom of Information Law does not require a Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) to produce new data in response to a question.

The Department has determined that where numbers are less than ten, to provide the specific number of individuals would likely breach the privacy of the individuals. Article 25 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has therefore been applied.

A.

The data for number of unique households is not held. This is because a single household may be in receipt of either a combination of components for impairment, or a single component. The data counts the components and individuals, not the number of households they are allocated between.  Article 10 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law has therefore been applied.

For questions B, C and D (part 1) the following is an extract from the data set linked above.

​B.

The last published data from 31.12.2023 shows there were 1074 households in receipt of either Clinical Costs 1 or Clinical Costs 2. These individuals may be in receipt of other components.

C.

The last published data from 31/12/2023 shows there were between 980 and 1000 households who were in receipt of either Mobility 1 or Mobility 2. These individuals may be in receipt of other components.

The exact number cannot be supplied as for confidentiality purposes the published data has not given exact numbers for data sets which are less than 10. 

D. 

The impairment rates indicted in question D are not the current income support impairment rates. The current 2024 rates are set out below.  

There were between 979 -1009 households in receipt on the personal care element of the impairment component at 31/12/2023.

Below is the breakdown of how many households were receiving the 3 levels of personal care, impairment component. 

• There were 448 households in receipt of Personal Care Level 1. 
  
• There were between 291 and 311 households in receipt of Personal Care Level 2. 
• There were between 240 and 250 households in receipt of Personal Care Level 3.

The exact number cannot be supplied as for confidentiality purposes the published data has not given exact numbers for data sets which are less than 10. 

E. 

Once an impairment form has been completed and returned to the department, it can only be assessed if there is sufficient medical evidence provided by relevant professionals with the returned application. 

In situations where there is not sufficient evidence to make the assessment, the team will request further information from the relevant professionals.

There are certain situations where individual assessments may be expedited, such as in cases where there is a terminal diagnosis or other sensitive situations. 

Over the last 18 months, the average time from application to decisions is 84 calendar days. in most cases, the payments for any impairment award will be backdated to the date in which all information was received by the department. 

F. 

Less than 5 households have appealed a decision regarding any element of their impairment assessment in the last 18 months. Less than 5 have had a decision changed. 

The Department has determined that where numbers are less than five, to provide the specific number of appeals would likely breach the privacy of the individuals. Article 25 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has therefore been applied

G. 

Whilst any existing income support claim is awaiting a review, the claim will continue in payment at the current assessment rate. 

The average time that a review takes once initiated, is 90 days, if the award is increased once the assessment is completed, the increased rate of payment will be backdated to the date when the review was due. 

Articles applied

Article 10 - Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding Information

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if –

(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and

(b) the authority does not hold the information, it must inform the applicant accordingly.

Article 25 - Personal information

​(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.​