The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long after being found to be ineligible for employment and support allowance as a result of a work capability assessment can an individual submit a new claim.
Priti Patel
An individual can submit a new claim for Employment and Support Allowance at any time after being found fit for work following a Work Capability Assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on consultancy costs examining possible proposals for the future of the Access to Work scheme.
Justin Tomlinson
Following an internal review of Access to Work, a number of changes and customer service improvements were announced in March 2015. In support of our next stage of continuous improvement of Access to Work, we have commissioned independent business analysts to provide expert advice on how Access to Work can best deliver the Government’s ambition to increase numbers supported by the scheme by 65% over the course of the Parliament, and beyond.
This work is still on-going and details of the contract can be found at https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e06d7b31-1135-42c9-a81b-854984be1137
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people with a (a) physical disability, (b) mental disability and (c) physical and mental disability in (i) the UK and (ii) Twickenham constituency.
Justin Tomlinson
a) and b) Based on the latest available figures from the Department’s Family Resources Survey 2013/2014, an estimated 11.9 million people in the UK reported a disability. The table below provides more detailed information about the types of impairment that disabled people reported.
Table 1: Disability prevalence disaggregated by impairment type UK, 2013/14
|
Millions of individuals |
|
|
Impairment type |
2013/14 |
|
Vision |
1.5 |
|
Hearing |
1.7 |
|
Mobility |
6.5 |
|
Dexterity |
3.4 |
|
Learning |
1.5 |
|
Memory |
1.9 |
|
Mental health |
2.1 |
|
Stamina/breathing/fatigue |
4.5 |
|
Social/behavioural |
0.8 |
|
Other |
1.8 |
|
All with at least one impairment |
11.9 |
Source: Family Resources Survey 2013/14
Respondents can report, and be affected by, more than one type of impairment.
c) Using the FRS an estimated 2.7 million people in the UK reported both a physical and mental disability. This estimate includes all individuals currently living in private households. It does not include individuals living in communal establishments (e.g. care homes).
For the purposes of this analysis, the following categories have been classified as physical disabilities;
Vision, Hearing, Mobility, Dexterity, and Stamina/Breathing/Fatigue.
The following categories have been classified as mental disabilities;
Learning, Memory, Mental Health, and Social/Behavioural
Note that disabilities classified as "other" have not been included in part c).
The department cannot provide figures in the format requested for Twickenham.
Aggregate level estimates of people with disability aged 16-64 in Twickenham can be found on the Nomis website based on the Annual Population Survey: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/select/getdatasetbytheme.asp?opt=3&theme=&subgrp=
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department sets targets related to the closing of benefit claims of people referred to the work programme.
Priti Patel
There are no targets set for providers in relation to the closing of benefit claims, though for a job to be eligible for outcome payments, providers must support people into enough work to take them off out-of-work benefits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.7 of his Department’s response to the consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payments, published in March 2016, if he will publish the equality analysis referred to in that paragraph.
Justin Tomlinson
As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.
We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 4.10 of his Department’s response to its consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payment, published in March 2016, if he will publish the raw data referred to in that paragraph; and whether that data was subject to peer review.
Justin Tomlinson
As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.
We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish (a) the criteria used to select organisations invited to attend and (b) the organisations that attended personal independence payments consultation stakeholder events in January 2016.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department held stakeholder events in Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds and London. These were public meetings open to anyone who wished to attend; this was publicised on Gov.uk. Representatives of the following organisations requested to do so:
Aberdeen City Council
Action for Blind People
The Action Group
Carers Support (Bexley)
Cheshire Centre for Independent Living
Citizens Advice Bureau
Coventry Law Centre
Child Poverty Action Group Scotland
Community Navigator Services
Crohn’s and Colitis UK
Deaf Sector Partnership/Scottish Council on Deafness
DeafBlind Scotland
DeafBlind UK
Deafconnect
Elcena Jeffers Foundation
Enable Scotland
Enfield Disability Action
Gateway Housing
Glasgow City Council
Housing Options Scotland
Inclusion Scotland
Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living
Macmillan Cancer Support
Maggie’s Centres
Motor Neurone Disease Association
Multiple Sclerosis Scotland
Multiple Sclerosis Society
National AIDS Trust
Royal National Institute of Blind People
Scope
The Scottish Government
Sense
South Lanarkshire Council
Spinal Injuries Association
Social Security Advisory Committee
Swansea Council
Welfare Benefits Unit
Welsh Government
West Lothian Council
Wolverhampton City Council
Departmental officials also held one-to-one meetings with Scope, RNIB, Disability Rights UK, the Disability Benefits Consortium (an umbrella group of over 60 organisations), and Scottish and Welsh government officials. A meeting was also held specifically for members of the PIP Implementation Stakeholder Forum Working Group. Meetings were also held with both assessment providers, Atos and Capita, to discuss the impact of any policy change on the delivery of assessments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will raise the threshold for carer’s allowance to take into account increases in the national minimum wage.
Justin Tomlinson
The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance which is not linked to the number of hours worked is currently £110 per week (net of certain expenses). It was increased to £110 in April 2015 – an increase of nearly 8%, which far outstripped the growth in earnings.
The Government keeps the earnings limit under review and keeps under consideration whether an increase in the threshold is warranted and affordable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with Compact Voice about the duration of the formal personal independent payment consultation.
Justin Tomlinson
The time period for the consultation was decided in line with the Government’s consultation principles guidance. This advises that consultations should typically run for between 2 and 12 weeks, but that “the timing and length of a consultation should be decided on a case-by-case basis; there is no set formula for establishing the right length”.
As we were consulting on the specific and discrete issue of how aids and appliances are accounted for when determining eligibility to the daily living component, 6 weeks was felt to be an appropriate length.
As the consultation ran over Christmas this period was extended by 8 days, which is why the consultation ran for 7 weeks and one day. The length of the consultation was determined by the Government, as is standard practice. There have been no discussions with Compact Voice on this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value is of a personal independence payment in (a) the UK and (b) Twickenham constituency.
Justin Tomlinson
Information on average weekly payments of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not published but can be calculated from the available claimant data extractable from Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/) and the amount of benefit paid by component combination. At the end of January 2016 the average amount payable to PIP recipients in Great Britain was £88.70 per week and £88.14 per week in the Twickenham parliamentary constituency.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year and will be a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.
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