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  Welfare Reform Bill - Clause 79 - Personal Independence Payment - Qualifying Period
  
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  @ MP voted aye to reduce the period claimants with health conditions must wait before they are eligible for personal independence payments from from six to three months.
  @ MP voted no not to reduce the period claimants with health conditions must wait before they are eligible for personal independence payments from from six to three months.
  
  The majority of MPs voted against reducing the period claimants with health conditions must wait before they are eligible for personal independence payments from from six to three months.
  
  Under consideration was the time period over which an individual's health is considered for the purposes of the "daily living" and "mobility" components which together make up the Personal Independence Payment.
  
  Prior to the consideration of the rejected amendment which was the subject of this vote clause 79 of the Welfare Reform Bill[1] required assessments eligibility of an individual's physical or mental condition to be carried out to determine:
  
  :whether, as respects every time in the previous 6 months, it is likely that if the relevant ability had been assessed at that time that ability would have been determined to be limited or (as the case may be) severely limited by the personâs physical or mental condition
  
  Margaret Curran MP (Glasgow East, Labour) proposed the rejected amendment to reduce the time period in that clause from 6 to 4 months. The text of her amendment was:
  
  :page 56, line 45, leave out â6â and insert â3â.
  
  During the debate Margaret Curran explained her proposed amendment:
  
  :would retain the three-month period that claimants must wait before they are eligible to receive PIP
  
  During the Welfare Reform Bill Committee on the 10th of May 2011[3], Minister Maria Miller stated:
  :the principal aim of extending the qualifying period from three to six months is not about savings. We do not expect the measure to provide any significant savings. It is a principled measure to bring PIP in line with the common definition of disability used in the Equality Act 2010, to provide an appropriate measure of long-term disability that can be robustly assessed, and to align with the qualifying period for attendance allowance.  
  
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  * [1] [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2010-2012/0197/cbill_2010-20120197_en_11.htm#pt4-pb1-l1g79 Clause 79 of the Welfare Reform Bill as at 17 February 2011] (prior to the consideration of this amendment)
  * [2] [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2011-06-15b.826.4#g832.1 Margaret Curran MP (Glasgow East, Labour), House of Commons, 15 June 2011]
  * [3] [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmpublic/welfare/110510/pm/110510s01.htm Maria Miller MP, (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions), Welfare Reform Bill Public Bill Committee, 10 May 2011 ] 
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  (put thoughts and notes for other researchers here)
  